


Build Me Up, Break Me Down

by Ringshadow



Series: Power Ballad Series [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Crazy Science, F/M, FrostIron - Freeform, M/M, Mental Illness, Multi, PTSD, Psychosis, Recreational Drug Use, Tesla - Freeform, Threesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-19
Updated: 2012-10-24
Packaged: 2017-11-16 14:48:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 117,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/540631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ringshadow/pseuds/Ringshadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You build me up<br/>You break me down<br/>Until I'm falling to pieces<br/>I crash and burn<br/>I never learn<br/>I'm your guilty addiction</p><p>Odin throws Loki down to Earth, and Loki falls right into the arms of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Unfortunately, Loki is unbalanced, a bit insane, and angry at the world. Of course, Tony matches him step for step on a lot of his issues.<br/>FrostIron story and a sequel to "Welcome to the Family", PepperToki (Pepper/Tony/Loki).<br/>Story contains mental health issues, medication, medicinal marijuana, Spidey cameos, warm fluffies, R&D, Malibu, and eventually a battle. Eventually.<br/>This one will contain adult scenes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was the second time Loki had fallen, and this time hurt more.

  
But, as he felt everything he was being torn away from him, he made a decision, and started spending the magic instead of letting it being taken from him, eyes closing and remembering a place, the bench, the grass, the book in his hands. That place, a relative peace in the middle of a city.

  
He was falling just like his brother had, but unlike his dim brother… he was going to aim.

* * *

 

Loki came to with a start, opening his eyes and sitting up, putting up an arm to block the sunlight as he tried to make his eyes focus. The first thing he saw was two men in blue and black uniforms, one standing the other crouching on his toes in front of Loki, maybe two meters away, both watching him.

  
“Well, I’ll be damned, you’re alive.” Said the standing one.

  
“Son, you just fell from the sky.” Said the crouching one. “According to witnesses you hit the dirt like a comet.”

  
He shook off and got to his feet, wincing and taking stock. Everything hurt. He looked down at himself, he was wearing some kind of boots, black jeans, a black shirt with some kind of pattern wrapping one shoulder and a dark leather jacket. And he was standing in a crater. Looking past the two men, both of whom were standing now, there was an impact site about thirty feet behind them, marked with pieces of broken park bench, then the dirt was plowed in a furrow to where he was standing. “That happens.” He finally said in response to the second man, shoving his hair out of his eyes. “This is New York, correct?”

  
The two men stepped back slowly. “Son, I don’t know what you’re into but I think you need to come downtown with us.”

  
He blinked, and put a few things together. He wasn’t the most knowledgeable about Midgard but these two were an authority of some kind, was the word police? “That’d be marvelous. Can you take me to Stark Tower?”

  
“Oh, hell, suddenly this makes sense.” Said the first man. “You a friend of Stark?”

  
He mustered a smile. “You could say that, yes.”

  
“Well, since you’re asking us nicely, you won’t cause any trouble, now will you?”

  
“I’ve caused enough trouble in my life already.” And he stepped forward, walking agreeably between the two uniformed men, seeing people gathered at a distance watching them, some with their phones pointed at him. So he grinned and let his stride open up, tossing his hair out of his eyes and letting them look.

  
The car ride took a while. The two officers spoke into some kind of device in their vehicle and kept eyeballing him, he just sat in the back and stared out the window, silently taking stock of himself. Now that he had a moment, he could feel the difference. No longer could he feel the potential burn of magic, in his brain and through his body. He didn’t have to test to know his body was weaker as well. All in all, he felt oddly… empty. A husk. It was utterly, totally, unnerving, but he kept his face as blank as he could, trying to keep the two men from seeing his trouble.

  
Eventually they pulled up in front of Stark Tower, and he walked in ahead of the two men, stride slowing and trying not to think too hard about what he was doing. This was the best place for him to come, right?

  
“Son, I hope like hell you actually know someone here.” One of the officers said.

  
He managed not to roll his eyes and looked upward, ignoring the receptionist and the people in the lobby. “Jarvis? Jarvis, are you down here?”

  
There was a few second pause, during which his heart clenched up, then Jarvis’ voice echoed through the lobby. “Welcome back, Mr. Laufeyson. Would you like me to tell Mr. Stark that you’ve returned?”

  
“Yes, please.” And he sat heavily on a bench in the lobby and held his head in his hands, feeling his bravado slip fully away.

 

* * *

 

“Sir, Mr. Laufeyson has returned to the head count.”

  
Tony blinked, flicking the welding torch off and pushing his goggles up. “You want to run that by me again, Jarvis?”

  
And Jarvis agreeably brought up a lobby camera feed, along with a recording of Loki walking into the lobby. “He asked for me when he came in.”

  
“Holy shit.” Tony dropped what he was doing and took his gloves and goggles off, stepping over and staring at the screen. “Where’s Thor?”

  
“Thor is not present, sir, Mr. Laufeyson appears to be in the company of two police officers.”

  
“Tell him I’ll be right down. Could you see if Pepper can come down as well?”

  
“I have taken the liberty of already informing her sir.”

  
“Good man.” He ran down the hallway of the lab level, stopping to stick his head into the room Bruce was in. “Loki’s back.”

  
“What?” Bruce replied, but Tony was already gone.

  
On the elevator, Tony took stock of himself. He was in clothing he used for machine work, that is to say his pants and shirt had welding holes and burn marks. He was entirely certain his hair was a mess and that he had marks from where he was wearing the goggles. But fuck it, finding out what was going on took precedence over his state, so he strode out when the elevator hit ground floor, walking over to the bench with his thumbs hooked in his belt loops. “Loki, what the hell are you doing here? Where’s Thor?”

  
Loki stood and gave him what seemed like a strained smile, and Tony froze because Loki’s eyes had changed color. They were no longer the powerful, otherworldly green. Oh, they were still green, but the color was muted. Normal, though still brilliant, jewel green. “I fell, Stark.”

  
He blinked slowly. “Trouble at home, I take it?”

  
“That is one way to put it.” He shook his head. “I’d rather tell you details upstairs.”

  
“That can be arranged.”

  
“Loki!” Pepper’s voice called, and she strode over, heels clicking on the marble floors of the lobby. “What’s the occasion?” She paused, seeing his expression, but walked fully over anyway, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Welcome back, no matter the circumstance.”

  
“You are too kind, Pepper.” He murmured in reply, feeling a flutter low in his gut.

  
“Someone want to tell us what’s going on? Because your boy here fell from the sky and left one hell of a crater in Central Park.” One of the cops asked.

  
Then Pepper had stepped over to the cops and was only too happy to explain to the cops and apologize, understanding entirely that just because someone was a friend of the Avengers did not mean they could blow the hell out of the park, and that they’d be happy to pay for the damage, and that they were very sorry and it wouldn’t be a repeat issue. Loki didn’t even try following it all, starting to sag.

  
Tony caught him, wrapping an arm around him. “Lean on me, man, before you fall.”

  
So he did, and a few minutes later the officers were leaving and Pepper and Tony were helping him to the elevator.

  
“You’re going to be buying a lot of tickets to the Policeman’s Ball, so you know.” Pepper remarked.

  
“That’s fair.” Tony replied. Once the elevator closed, they both held him for a moment, arms around him and trapping him between them. Loki sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, confidence returning because this was a safe place, watching as the two then stepped back and regarded him seriously. “Not that I’m upset that you’re back, actually it’s good to see you, but what the hell?” Tony said. “No Thor, no collar, just here by yourself?”

  
“I told you. I was thrown down. I fell.” Loki replied. “I am Midgardian now.”

  
“Oohhh shit.” His eyes widened. Pepper’s eyes widened as well.

  
“That is about the size of things.” He rubbed his eyes. “How long ago was I last here?”

  
“It’s… been four months.” Tony finally said as the elevator opened. He could quote it to the day if he had to, but figured that probably sounded desperate.

  
“I figured you’d be coming up here.” Bruce said when they stepped out of the elevator into the rumpus room. “Loki?”

  
“Hello, Bruce.” He shrugged out of the jacket he was wearing and regarded the shirt. “…Not my choice in apparel, but I guess I should be happy I didn’t end up nude.”

  
Bruce blinked, then looked at Tony and lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Remember that treatment Odin gave Thor? Same thing.” Tony replied, already at the bar pouring an assortment of drinks.

  
“Different thing, actually. There is no door back. Not for me.” Loki replied. “This is my punishment.”

  
There was a long silence, during which everyone watched Loki slowly pace the room, dropping his jacket on the couch, brushing his hair out of his eyes. It’d grown more, Tony noticed, hell it was probably down to the bottom edge of Loki’s shoulder blades. And now mortal or not, Loki’s walk hadn’t changed. In Loki’s mind, he was apparently still a prince and he walked like it.

  
“What the hell happened?” Tony finally asked, taking Loki a brandy.

  
“I do not know.” Loki accepted the glass, and saw the look Bruce gave him, smiling a bit. “I really don’t. I returned to the Quiet Places without argument. They didn’t even question the backpack. I was passing the time quietly, and suddenly the door reopened and I was being grabbed back out. I didn’t even have time to realize what was happening. I was grabbed and thrown down in one motion.”

  
“Harsh.” Bruce said.

  
“I can’t believe they’d just up and decide to do this to you. There must have been reason.” Pepper said.

  
Loki sighed. “If you believe that Odin needs reason to do anything cruel, that’s your mistake. Thor basically put himself in harm’s way when he defied them and said he would not allow traditional punishment for me.”

  
“This the sew your mouth shut thing?” Tony asked, now holding his own glass. Two fingers of scotch on the rocks, nothing severe, he just didn’t want Loki to drink alone.

  
“Among… other alternatives.” Loki looked away, sipping his booze.

  
“You’re oddly calm about this.” Pepper said, arms folded.

  
“He’s in shock.” Bruce replied quietly.

  
Loki wove an arm and sat heavily on the sofa, staring off into space.

  
“They threw you down and you just… landed in New York.” Pepper said after a moment.

  
“No, this was very much on purpose. If I was ending up on this world, I was coming here.” Loki shrugged.

  
Tony walked around the couch and claimed the seat next to him, Pepper and Bruce following, Bruce taking a chair and Pepper sitting on the other side of Tony. Loki was cradling the snifter in both hands, leaning his forehead against it, gaze vacant.

  
“You realize we’re going to have to call everyone in and call SHIELD, right?” Bruce looked at Tony. “And please don’t argue with me about this.”

  
“I can’t.” Tony shook his head. “I mean, I agree.”

  
“They’ll just try to remove me from here, you know.” Loki replied.

  
“I’m sure Fury will want to at first, but leaving you here with us actually makes more sense.” Tony replied. “Frankly I need SHIELD involved because I can’t get you IDs without doing some very illicit computer work. I mean, I can do it no problem but if I can just have SHIELD set you up, that’d be better.”

  
“IDs?” Loki looked at him.

  
“Yeah. Legal identification. Welcome to being human.”

  
The former Asgardian giggled, that little off-balance hyena noise Tony remembered from the last visit. It was, needless to say, a bit off putting. Tony wanted to reach out, pull him close, but he wasn’t even sure what it was between them.

  
“Jarvis, who else is home?” Tony asked.

  
“Captain Rogers is in his apartment, sir.”

  
“Roust him for me, if he’s not busy.” Tony saw Loki’s look. “Steve moved in.”

  
“He’s adopting all of us.” Bruce half smiled.

  
“No Clint or Natasha, hmm?” Loki sipped his brandy.

  
“I can claim they have residence here. I can’t claim they live here.” Tony shrugged.

  
Not even a minute later, the elevator dinged and Steve walked in. His wardrobe had changed, Loki noted. Being adopted by Tony apparently meant upgraded clothing options. “Hey, what’s the... Oh. Welcome back, Loki.”

  
“Steve.” Loki lifted his glass to him a bit. “I do wish the circumstances were better.”

  
“Ah.” Steve got a draft beer from the bar and came over, carrying the frosted mug easily. Red solo cups were on permanent ban from Stark Tower after someone had taught Thor a certain song. Said song was also now on permanent ban, at least in the rumpus room. Tony had cited personal sanity reasons.

  
“I’m mortal.” Loki said in reply to the answer to Steve’s unasked question as Steve sat. “It’s permanent. I… the magic is gone, I…” He trailed into silence, setting his glass down on the coffee table with a shaky hand then putting his face in his hands, breathing coming fast.

  
As if cued, thunder cracked overhead, and Tony twisted on the couch, watching cloudcover rush over the city hard and fast, surrounding the tower, the daylight being blocked out. “Jarvis?”

  
“Weather pattern is consistent with Thor’s arrival, sir.”

  
“Well, isn’t he the king of good timing.”

  
Loki didn’t move, shoulders trembling.

  
Tony shook his head and stood, carrying his glass with him and opening the balcony door, leaning in it and waiting, sipping his booze and watching the clouds above. He’d learned the storm could be an indicator of Thor’s mood. Light clouds, mild thunder and warm rain was an indication of a happy Thor. These clouds were black as night and he was sure lightning was hitting his tower and the surrounding buildings. Damn. He put a hand up as the rain opened up, coming down hard and cold, and he saw Thor come to a gentle landing on the Ironman landing pad. “Hey, man, you’re fucking up the airspace. Welcome back.”

  
“Man of Iron!” Thor replied, coming down the walkway, the storm already lightening up a bit. “I bring important news!”

  
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we already know. Come on in.” He knocked back the rest of his drink, aware that behind him Loki had stood, and the hair on the back of his neck came to attention. So he backed away from the doorway, taking the few steps to the bar to set his glass down as Thor stepped in and shut the door behind him, shaking rain off easily.

  
“What do you mean you…” Thor cut off, gaping at Loki. “Brother!”

  
“Brother.” Loki repeated, slowly stepping around the couch, walk deliberate, and Tony had a flashback of the battlefield, and Loki captured, oh he remembered this behavior set. Steve was already getting to his feet, having set his beer mug down, waiting to mediate. “Brother. How dare you.”

  
“Loki, I…” Thor started, taking a few steps forward, brow furrowing.

  
“SHUT UP!” Loki’s voice pitched up to a fever scream, hands curling and eyes flashing. “How fucking dare you, Thor?! Did you have anything to do with this?”

  
“I just found out!” Thor replied, hands up in treaty, eyes wide. “Brother, trust me, I would never…”

  
“TRUST YOU?” The smaller Asgardian’s voice was a howl of pain. “I am now nothing, a husk, an empty body! I received no explanation for this! My soul has been torn from me and you want me to, to trust you?!”

  
“Yes, I do. Please, I had nothing to do with this! And I went through the same thing you are now!” Thor’s voice rose to counter Loki’s. “I know exactly how you feel!”

  
“You’ve never known how I feel!”

  
Tony looked back and forth between them, totally helpless. Loki was coming apart at the seams, and it was heartbreaking to watch. Steve stepped around and leaned on the bar next to Tony, also watching. In the conversation pit, Pepper was standing, hands at her mouth and eyes shining. Bruce had backed slowly away, one hand at his neck, trying to disassociate from the fight. Tony caught his gaze and Bruce waved him off, making an OK symbol with one hand.

  
“And what did ‘father’ tell you, pray tell?” Loki’s voice was a hard hiss, circling around Thor, eyes on him, hands still curled, not into fists but more liked hooked claws. “Did he tell you he locked the door behind me?”

  
“Loki, I…” Thor started again, circling to counter Loki and prevent his brother from getting behind him, because everything that had always made Loki his wonderful, smart brother was gone from those eyes.

  
“Shut. Up.” The scream came back. “Your father did not pay me any pleasantries, Thor! He threw me down and his voice echoed in the void! He told me that final punishment had been decided and I was never, ever coming home!”  
Thor stopped, staring at him. “He wouldn’t do that.”

  
Loki tossed his arms out. “And yet, here I am!”

  
“This has never been used as a punishment! It is a trial, Loki! A trial by fire, perhaps, but one none the less! This is a good thing! This is your chance at redemption!”

  
Loki stopped and just stared at him, then started laughing, long and loud, that high pitched laugh of utter mania and some seriously questionable sanity. “Oh. Oh you actually believe that.”

  
“Yes, I do.”

  
“That’s… That’s just precious.” Loki put his face in his hands, still giggling. Thor took a few steps closer, and the laugh cut off, turning into a growl of warning, Loki looking at him under his brows. “Redemption is for people who are sorry, Thor.” And he stepped in, getting right in Thor’s face. “And I regret NOTHING.” His voice ground down to a hiss of rage, twisted and distorted.

  
Thor said nothing, just staring down at Loki, heartbreak crossing his face again.

  
“No. Perhaps I do regret something.” And Loki stepped back again. “I regret even trying to prove myself to your father. What chance did I ever have of meaning something next to the chosen son? Oh no, the years meant nothing. I was never his.”

  
“Loki…” Thor said, helplessly.

  
“Do not even fucking start.” Loki snarled. “I’m sure it’s nothing you haven’t said before.”

  
“That is ENOUGH!” Pepper’s voice cut the air, actually making the two Asgardians jump. “You are upsetting Bruce and I WILL NOT HAVE IT.”

  
There was silence for a few moments, everyone looking at Bruce, who was now huddled against the wall, hugging himself and staring at them.

  
“Oh my dear Pepper Potts, and you plan on stopping me how?” Loki wanted to know.

  
Oh, shit, that just crossed a line, Tony thought to himself, pushing away from the bar as Steve did. But before either of them could do anything, Pepper calmly walked over to Loki and backhanded him. It was not a sissy slap, Loki reeled and staggered backwards, landing on his ass and gaping up at her.

  
And she leaned over him, grabbing his chin and glaring down at him. “Stay. Down.”

  
“Yes’m.” Loki said, voice hoarse.

  
“God. Damn. Pepper.” Tony said slowly.

  
She straightened and looked at him, shaking her hand out. “I’m not proud. I did not want to do that, Loki, but you WILL conduct yourself better here. You will not poison the atmosphere of this room. You will act like a reasonable, rational adult or so help me…”

  
Loki whimpered and nodded. “Sorry.”

  
That said, she wheeled on Thor, who wisely took several steps backwards with his hands up. “As for YOU! You’re not helping! I suggest you try a different method!”

  
“Yes, Pepper.” Thor said.

  
“Good!” And she shook off, walking over to the bar and pouring a shot.

  
“I had no idea that…” Tony started, staring at her.

  
She put a hand and knocked back the shot. “How about we NOT gush over the fact that I just physically abused someone in the middle of a psychiatric break?” And, as if cued, Loki burst into tears, horrible sobbing wails of pain, and Pepper put her face in her hands.

  
“Great fucking day.” Tony said.

  
“Bruce, get some air. Thor? Sit down. One of the chairs.” Steve said, walking over and scooping up Loki off the floor, who struggled rather ineptly before going limp. Bruce needed no encouragement, speed walking past everyone else and stepping out onto the balcony. Thor nodded and walked ahead of Steve, claiming one of the chairs and watching as Steve set Loki down on the couch. “Hey. You may not believe it but we want to help you.”

  
Loki was gone, fetal positioning on the couch and covering his head with his arms, sobs choking off into hiccups and whimpers.

  
Steve sighed and stood, folding his arms. “Tony? You’re up.”

  
“What?” Tony asked.

  
Steve just stared at him, right through him, rattling his fingers on his upper arms.

  
And Tony realized that Steve was probably a lot more perceptive than Tony gave him credit for. Of course, it didn’t exactly take Sherlock Holmes to put some things together, and the emotional aftermath of Loki leaving from his last visit had not exactly been covered up well. He rubbed his eyes and walked over, slowly, claiming a seat on the couch next to Loki and waiting. When he got no reaction, no indication that Loki had even noticed him, he sighed and reached down, pulling Loki up and partly into his lap, holding him against his chest and leaning his chin on the top of Loki’s head. “Hey. Just let it out.”

  
Loki’s hands fisted into his shirt slowly, and the noises escalated again, little borderline inhuman noises of pain breaking into howling sobs again, and Tony held him and didn’t even bother trying to calm him down, as terrible as the agonized noises were. At some point he looked at Thor, whose eyes were wide, staring at them. Pepper walked over and sat on the other side of the couch, knees drawn to her chest and struggling with tears herself. Tony only sighed and waited it out, the sobs tapering down to tiny hoarse noises then silence.

  
“I, I…” Loki’s voice was tiny, strained.

  
“That had better not be an apology.” Tony replied. “Fucking hell, Loki, how long have you been caging that up?”

  
Bruce reappeared, offering a damp washcloth and a towel, and Tony nodded his thanks, taking them and giving them to Loki, who buried his face in the towel, trembling. It was several minutes before he said anything, wiping off his face and looking over the edge of it, red raw eyes finding Pepper. “I’m sorry.”

  
“So am I. I can’t believe I hit you. I’m so sorry.”

  
Loki slid off Tony and sat on his own, dropping the towel in his lap and rubbing his eyes, accepting the washcloth from Tony. “I… I’m not sure I’ve done that since I was a small child.”

  
“Frankly the way you were winding up it was inevitable. All that energy had to go somewhere.” Tony replied.

  
“I have not heard that kind of pain from you in a very long time.” Thor’s voice was strained.

  
“A calculated effort on my part, I assure you.” Loki sighed. “Thor. This is permanent. Odin isn’t willingly going to let me back into Asgard. You may not like it but please at least believe me.”

  
Thor hesitated, then nodded slowly.

  
“And please, don’t go back and try to bargain for my right to come home. It’ll just be your head then, and I’m the one who committed the crimes.”

  
“But, Loki…”

  
“No. Just … just don’t. I’ll make my way here. I may not understand this world… but at least here I feel like there’s people who have my back besides you.” Loki stared at him, and for a split second Tony thought he saw a flicker of that otherworldly green again but it was gone just as fast. “Because I remember a shadow. And I remember falling. And you have a long way to go before I trust you. Brother.”


	2. Chapter 2

“No, just… Pepper, I’m not mad at you.” Loki was now in Tony’s living room, suffering a cold washcloth over his eyes. His whole body, which had already been sore from his crash landing in the park, was now a raw ache. His chest throbbed and his lungs hitched every time he inhaled, and fair enough, but the sheer full body exhaustion was unnerving. His muscles were actually trembling, it was all he could do to sit limply on the couch, head tipped back to rest on the back of said couch.

  
“Well, I’m mad at me.” She replied. “I was totally out of line.”

  
“You were effective though. You brought the situation to a halt and let Bruce calm down. Important things first, when it comes to the Other Guy.” Tony said.

  
“I don’t think this body would deal quite so well with Banner’s monster.” Loki muttered.

  
He’d wanted to rest but refused to be alone, and he’d stayed in Tony’s apartment the last time he’d visited. No one had batted an eye, but Tony was pretty sure that at least Steve and Bruce had come to logical conclusions. Thor had been caught off guard and had actually taken Tony aside and thanked him for showing such warmth to Loki during his pain. Tony had brushed it off for the time being. Steve, Thor, and Bruce were still upstairs, probably calling Clint and Natasha and trying to salvage some good moods for the remainder of the night. As far as Tony was concerned, SHIELD could be dealt with tomorrow.

  
“No, no it wouldn’t have.” Tony agreed, walking over and sitting. Loki was sitting center on the couch, Pepper was on one side, so he took the other.

  
“It… is fine that I am here tonight?” Loki sent the question in on tip toes.

  
“You’re kidding.” Tony managed not to laugh. “What, the hug in the elevator wasn’t a hint? We missed you.”

  
He moved the washcloth and looked at Tony, blinking. “You did?”

  
“Yes.” Pepper said. “You’re welcome here.”

  
“That said, there’s still empty apartments.” Tony said. “I’ll be happy to set you up with your own place, but my door’s always open. I’ll give you security permission.”

  
Loki almost laughed, lacing his hands together in his lap and biting his lower lip as a flush crept into his cheeks. It took a moment for Tony and Pepper to realize that Loki was, in fact, blushing. A first, as far as they were concerned, and Pepper smothered a giggle. “You realize… I don’t know what this body is capable of. I am no god now.”

  
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll be happy to find out.” Tony replied. “Your schedule, of course.”

  
Loki cleared his throat and flipped his hair out of his eyes, a very well-practiced gesture. Before, the simple motion would have snapped the tangles and kinks out of his hair and put it back to perfection, now it just got his hair out of his eyes. And in that moment, that familiar, curly smile crossed his face, the man Tony remembered peeking out from behind a veil of sorrow. “Well, I’d hardly be a good guest if I turned down such an invitation.”

  
He laughed.

  
“That said, what is to become of me, hmm? I was rather presumptuous with what I said to Thor. This just seemed the best place for me to come.”

  
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. Actually I’d like to put you on R&D with Bruce and myself.” Tony replied, watching Loki’s head snap around to stare at him head on, eyes wide. “Realize, you’ll have to work for that a bit. I know you’re smart and sharp as a fucking whip but I don’t know what the education system is like on Asgard. So you’ll need to get through some basic aptitude tests so we can see how much we have to bring you up to speed.”

  
“You want me to build things with you.” Loki’s voice was quiet, full of wonder.

  
“Well, yeah. If you’re willing. Yeah Stark as a company has got an entire R&D department but Bruce and I do our own thing and we could use some help.”

  
“I… I think I like that idea.”

  
“Great, just let me know.” Tony blinked. “Oh. That actually reminds me.” He got off the couch and wandered into the bedroom.

  
Loki blinked after him, then looked at Pepper, lifting a hand to brush against one of her cheeks. She leaned into the touch, smiling at him, then Tony came back into the room, wearing a different shirt, hands shoved in his back pockets. Loki tilted his head at him, then his eyes went to the green gothic lettering on the front of the black shirt, accented in silver. ‘I support the Avengers Initiative.’ When Loki just looked at him, Tony turned and pointed over his shoulder at the back.

  
The back was dominated by an antler motif over a tribal, done entirely in green and silver. It was Loki’s knockoff shirt he’d conjured during the last visit.

  
“What… how did you?” Loki asked, reaching out and touching the shirt, then grinning. “Tony Stark, wearing the sigil for Loki Laufeyson. My goodness.”

  
Tony laughed, sitting back down. “Jarvis caught it on the cameras and put it together for me. We have a whole series of them now, one for each of us and a unified one. And this one, which we just titled ‘Trickery.’ We sell them downstairs and on a website as part of an ongoing fundraiser to repair war torn areas, now that New York has recovered.”

  
“Trickery.” Loki repeated, lifting an eyebrow.

  
“Well, the rest of the shirts our listed by our call signs, but we couldn’t use your name. Fury about stroked out as it was. Demanded to know how I had the gall to sell a shirt themed on you when you were the cause of the trouble.” Tony scratched his goatee. “I might have referenced some movie villains in my counter argument. Point is, not everyone’s sunshine and roses. Not everyone likes a clean slate, hell, even I like some blood and dirt on the canvas.”

  
Loki switched which eyebrow he had lifted. “You’re selling a shirt with my sigil on it in support of… villainy?”

  
“Not exactly. More as an acknowledgement that there are people out there with dark hearts, and they can have their heroes too.” Pepper said. “And take that as you will.”

  
“You two are far too kind to me.” Loki was grinning.

  
“Of course we are, I mean you’re coming to bed with us right?”

  
“TONY!” Pepper gaped at him around Loki.

  
“What? I’m allowed to ask, aren’t I?” He shrugged open handed, grinning and clearly not sorry.

  
“Ah, so when you say you missed me…” Loki started, considering.

  
Tony reached over and yanked him in so he sprawled across the sofa and into Tony’s body, leaning on his chest looking up at the shorter man. “It means we missed you, you crazy and beautiful man.” That said he pulled Loki up a bit and kissed him, warm and hungry and relieved, especially when Loki wrapped an arm around the back of his neck and pulled him into it a bit farther. Partway through it Pepper shifted and managed to snuggle between the back of the couch and Loki, leaning against Tony’s side and wrapping an arm around them both.

  
Tony let the kiss ease out, not surprised when Loki started laughing, shifting and burying his face into Tony’s neck and collar bone. Tony just grinned and buried his face into Loki’s long tangled hair, shifting an arm to pull Pepper more into the group embrace. Really, this was the moment when the change in Loki hit him. Before, the Asgardian had smelled of snow and wintergreen and cold, skin cool, almost always perfect. Now, he smelled of the leather jacket he’d been wearing, body warm and trembling with laughter but still so welcome in the shorter man’s arms.

  
“Understand me now?” Tony wanted to know, one hand tangled into Loki’s hair.

  
“Stark, you were the last person I thought would get attached to anyone.” Loki replied, staying where he was, that comfortable-safe feeling returning.

  
“Yeah, a lot of people think that, and I guess I gave them reason. King of the one night stands and more so the ability to forget about them after.” He shrugged. “But, things changed. I changed, a lot. And you worked with us very, very well. I’m curious to see where this goes and I will be damned if I let the chance pass me by.”

  
“Well, if that’s the case for both of you…” Loki started slowly, thinking back, stunned at his luck.

  
“You’re kidding, right? He’s been useless for four months.” Pepper giggled, then laughed louder when Tony used the arm he had around her to tickle her until she continued. “Yes, it’s the case for both of us. Tony stop IT I can’t breathe…”

  
“You two. I swear.” Loki shifted and wrapped an arm around both of them, tight, possessive. Mine, he thought. I’ll keep them both.

* * *

 

A few hours passed and they’d shifted to Tony’s bed because the couch just didn’t accommodate all three of them very well. Tony and Pepper hadn’t been surprised when Loki had passed out almost immediately after getting undressed, sprawling out naked under Tony’s red sheets, unashamed and smiling. Pepper ended up bringing her laptop over and Tony his tablet, situating to bracket Loki in the bed, still mostly dressed.

  
Neither mentioned the bruises that were blossoming over Loki’s skin, wrapping down his torso. They could only assume Loki had incurred the damage hitting the planet hard enough to leave a crater.  
“Sir, Captain Rogers is at the door.” Jarvis said, voice quiet.

  
“He has the door codes.” Tony replied, rolling off the bed and shrugging back into the Trickery shirt, padding out of the bedroom in stocking feet.

  
“He also has manners, sir.”

  
“Right.” He went to the door and opened it, blinking up at Steve. “Hey, man.”

  
“We need you upstairs.”

  
“Did they send you down to make sure I showed up?” Tony replied, and Steve nodded, so he did a one moment gesture and went back to the bedroom doorway. “Duty calls. I’ll be back later.”

  
Pepper looked up and nodded. “I’ll take care of him.”

  
He nodded and rejoined Steve, not bothering with shoes, stepping out of the apartment and over to the elevator. “What’s the story?”

  
“How’s he doing?” Steve replied.

  
“He’s beat to shit. He must have hit the ground hard.” Tony shrugged, then paused. “Listen, I…”

  
The taller man just smiled and held up a hand. “Wasn’t judging.”

  
“Somehow I feel the need to try to defend myself anyway.”

  
“Oh, I’m sure you’d try.”

  
He was still making faces at Steve when they got off the elevator upstairs and found everyone else assembled waiting for them, and the large television repurposed for a video conference call so it displayed a completely unimpressed looking Director Fury. “Thank you for joining us, Stark.”

  
“Well, I’m sorry, no one told me we were having a party.” Tony poured himself some coffee, knowing he’d just gone off the video feed but was audible. “Hi Clint, hi Natasha, welcome back.”

  
“Your day’s been more fun than ours, it seems.” Natasha sounded somehow amused. Clint just sat and watched, because this was beyond normal for Tony Stark, who did shit on HIS schedule not yours, thank you very much.

  
“I’m not sure fun is the word I’d use. Interesting, I’ll give you.” He walked back over, carrying his mug, and claimed a free chair on the video feed, sitting with the group. “So, how long’s this been going on before I showed up?”

  
Fury continued to look completely unimpressed. Mostly because he’d figured out yelling at Tony gave Tony more satisfaction than it gave him. “Over an hour, actually.”

  
“You could have called me up here then you know.” He pointed out.

  
“We excluded you by choice, since it would seem you have a talent at calming your newly arrived violently insane house mate.”

  
“Director Fury…” Thor started in protest.

  
“Thor, I meant that as a practical description, not an insult. Bringing me to the topic of this phone call and why we saw fit to drag you in here, Stark.”

  
“Well, I can tell you’re not pleased by it.” Tony replied.

  
Fury just looked at him. “Yes, I’m always perfectly pleased when the bad guy’s sentence includes being cut loose on the planet he did the damage to in the first place, and then I get to listen to an hour of people trying to convince me he’s not dangerous. I’m sure you’ll say the same.”

  
“I wouldn’t say that, but I would say he’s no more dangerous than anyone else on the planet. And god knows that most of our troublemakers are locally grown.” Tony drank his coffee. “That being said, he seems far more likely to hurt himself than try to concoct another scheme. People who state loudly that they’re nothing tend to only be dangers to themselves.”

  
“They also tend to have nothing to lose.” Fury countered.

  
“So, what would you do with him then? Try him locally for his crimes? He’s got a pretty good case for an insanity plea, besides, are there intergalactic double jeopardy laws?” He wanted to know. “Or does SHIELD not care about generally accepted human rights conventions?”

  
He sat back and folded his arms, looking at the assembled Avengers. “You’re all agreeing about something and it’s to protect the guy you got together to beat down in the first place.”

  
“Look at it this way.” Clint said. “If he goes off the rails again, we’re the best people to have nearby.”

  
“You of all people.” Fury looked disgusted with the world. “Fine. If this is happening, it’s happening my way. Expect me at Stark Tower tomorrow morning. Make sure our new guest is in attendance.” That said, the video cut out.

  
“Well. That worries me.” Tony said.

  
“My brother, has he calmed down?” Thor wanted to know, leaning to look at Tony.

  
He mustered a shrug. “Last I saw he was fast asleep, but he had one hell of a day.”

  
“Well, now that Fury’s off the phone let’s talk seriously about this.” Natasha said. “Is he a threat?”

  
“He is powerless.” Thor replied. “He is mortal. He’s no more a threat than any other Midgardian. But he still likely possesses skills in combat, and he’s in great pain.”

  
“Animals in pain tend to attack the people trying to help them.” Clint remarked.

  
“My brother is no animal, but I do understand what you mean.”

  
“Bruce, Steve, Tony? You all spent the most time with him.” Natasha said.

  
“He wasn’t like this when he was here last.” Bruce replied. “He was quiet. Social enough, but he never got on edge let alone got into a screaming fit.”

  
“He spent four days within thirty feet of Tony and didn’t freak out.” Steve said.

  
Tony made a face at him. “Thank you for the resounding support, Steve, it means a lot to me.”

  
“Alright, Loki Whisperer. You tell us then.” Clint said. “Because you two get along rather disturbingly well.”

  
“What? It’s kind of obvious why.” Tony drained his coffee. “We’re both arrogant, narcissistic, smart mouthed assholes with an appreciation for fine clothes, hot women, and shiny toys. He has similar music tastes, and he has no problem giving me shit, which I appreciate. In your own words, Clint, Loki and I do occasionally enable each other. That all said and done, he’s got some bad wiring, and I don’t know where the fire’s going to start, or when.”

  
Everyone blinked at him for a second.

  
“You think what happened today won’t be a one off?” Bruce asked.

  
“Oh, I know it won’t be.” He set the mug down and crossed his arms, looking around at everyone seriously. “The question, however, is trajectory. If we can put all that anger and indignation he’s sitting on toward something useful to us, well, he could be an asset, and a powerful one. But if we’re standing in the way when he blows…”

  
“I do not think my brother would hurt you, Man of Iron.” Thor said. “But he still feels I betrayed him.”

  
“Everything he said earlier, was it true?”

  
Thor sagged, rubbing his face with one hand. “I do not know. I hope that it isn’t, but I do not think he would scream lies while in such pain. Everything he said, he thinks happened. It would certainly be an… unusual, and very personal, punishment. Loki has always luxuriated in his power. To remove it from him permanently is a very purposeful slap to his face.”

  
Tony thought back to all the tiny things he saw Loki do when he barely had any power at all, and they were all convenience. Clothing, hair, cleanliness. That satisfied cat smile when Loki had flipped his hair and it magically flowed and landed perfectly like a goddamn shampoo advertisement. “Yeah, that makes sense actually.”

  
“It is actually very possible that he sees this as something worse than death in many ways.” Thor continued. “Certainly, living on Midgard has its many many highlights, but being torn from what you’ve always known, having the strength you’ve always had taken so brutally away… it does not put you in a frame of mind that is productive. Of course, he did say he’d try to make his way here and that’s good.” He hesitated. “But he also said he is not sorry and that worries me.”

  
“You aren’t alone.” Steve said. “But I think we’re just going to have to see what Fury meant, so I suppose this is best left until tomorrow.”

  
This was met with agreement, the group only too glad to move on to more cheerful topics of conversation.

* * *

 

It was a few hours later when Tony returned to his apartment. The late afternoon had passed into evening, and he found the lights on low, taking his shirt off as he walked, pausing in the doorway to appreciate what he saw. Pepper was in bed, sitting up most of the way with an e-reader in hand. Loki had snuggled up, head resting on her stomach and one arm wrapped around her.

  
Tony knew Loki was going to go off again. Yeah, he’d vented a lot of pain today but the framework was still there in Loki’s head. That said, looking at what he was, there was no way he’d change it for the world.

  
“Hey.” Pepper looked up and smiled. “Must have been one hell of a meeting.”

  
“Let’s just say tomorrow is going to be fun.” Tony shook his head, retreating to the bathroom to get ready for bed, emerging a few minutes later and sitting on the edge of the bed looking at them both. “You’re okay with this?”

  
“Pft, Tony. I’m great with this. I missed him too. Knew I shouldn’t, but I did anyway.”

  
“Surely I’m not that bad of an influence.” Loki’s voice was a murmur.

  
Tony and Pepper both startled, then Tony started laughing. “You are really good at pretending to be asleep.”

  
“I am a light sleeper. I heard your footsteps, walking into the room.” Loki didn’t move, but he opened his eyes. “Do you normally retire this early?”

  
“No, normally I stay up late. Pass out in the lab about half the time.” Tony sighed and kicked out of his jeans, crawling up onto the bed and burrowing under the sheets with both of them. “But it’s been a long day.” Pepper was still in the e-reader, so Tony wrapped up along Loki’s back, curling an arm around him and sighing at the purr of satisfaction this got out of the taller man. “Fury’s coming by tomorrow.”

  
“Because of me, I imagine.” Loki replied.

  
“Mmhm.”

  
“Will I be escorted away in cuffs?”

  
“Honestly none of us know exactly what he’s planning.”

  
Loki mmmed under his breath, and fell silent again. Tony felt him relax out into sleep, and followed shortly when Pepper’s free hand nestled into his hair, rubbing his scalp with her fingertips.


	3. Chapter 3

“She stays up later than us and she’s up before us. Is she for real?” Loki wanted to know, half awake and in nothing but a towel, hair half dry, sitting on the edge of the bed.

  
“She’s better at running my company than I was.” Tony replied, trying to figure out how exactly his life had changed that he thought it was perfectly normal to be sitting behind a former demigod towel drying that demigod’s hair. Tony was already dressed.

  
“Well, we have to do something about your clothing situation.” Pepper clicked through in her heels, surveying them both. She was dressed for business, Tony was dressed for work (that is to say, jeans and a tank top), Loki wasn’t dressed at all. “It’s hard to shop for clothing when you don’t have any to wear in the first place, so I made a few phone calls, and one of the stores that has seen a lot of business from us is sending someone by with some clothes that should fit you and a tailor.”

  
“Have you been shotgunning coffee?” Tony wanted to know, now working on getting tangles out of Loki’s hair.

  
“Tch.” Pepper took the brush from him and took over, sitting side saddle on the bed and working the snarls out Loki’s long hair efficiently, then gathering it behind him and starting in on a braid, shifting to her knees to start high on his head. Tony leaned back on the heels of his hands and watched, it always fascinated him.

  
“Why are you always braiding my hair?” Loki asked, eyes shut and clearly not complaining.

  
“Because it’s there.” Pepper replied as if that made sense, pulling a hair tie off her wrist and tying it off. “Fishtail braid, left you with a long ponytail. Now, I hate to say it, but you’re to have to at least put on the pants you were wearing yesterday. I doubt the tailor would complain, but just in case.”

  
“Oh, wow, is it Jason?” Tony wanted to know, grinning.

  
“Yes, if he’s going to talk to Director Fury he’s at least going to be well dressed and presentable.”

  
“I am not a child.” Loki said in a petulant tone, trying to figure out where his clothes had gone to, eventually finding them draped over the back of a chair in the corner, which was not where he’d left them. He was pretty sure at least, he didn’t actually remember getting undressed. After he’d gotten his pants on he looked over his shoulder and saw the other two sitting there cheerfully admiring the view, and grinned at them. “So, what is the plan for today then?” Ignoring the shirt, he wandered back over, looking down at them.

  
“Well, I don’t know when Fury’s arriving. He just said in the morning.” Tony replied.

  
“I’m here to talk to tailor, then I’m off to work for a while once that’s done.” Pepper said. “With any luck I’ll get some free time late in the afternoon so we can actually start working on your wardrobe, Loki.”

  
“I’m not used to having to worry about clothing.” Loki sighed.

  
“Well, don’t worry now either. We’ll get you set up, it isn’t that big of a deal.” Tony replied. “And if I have my way we’re getting you at least one suit because I seem to remember some pictures of you in one.” That made Loki smirk.

  
“Tony likes putting people in good clothing.” Pepper explained, standing and brushing out her skirt. “Steve about made him climb the wall for months until Steve caved and let himself be drug in for fittings.”

  
“Yet, here you are.” Loki looked at Tony.

  
“Are you complaining?” Tony replied, also standing. “Besides, I’d like to get some actual work done today. I’m not welding while wearing fine linen, that’d be a terrible idea and a borderline sin.”

  
“Miss Potts, the tailor is here.” Jarvis said.

  
“Let him up, I’ll meet him at the elevator.” And she cheerfully skipped out of the room.

  
“You know, I remember thinking, when I last visited, that being around you is very much like being in a whirlpool or another strong tide.” Loki said thoughtfully, walking beside Tony as they left the bedroom.

  
“Not the first time I’ve heard something like that.” He watched Loki wander the room, shirtless and in only jeans, standing in front of the balcony door sand basking in the morning sunlight. He was mottled with bruises, but he was still entirely regal, which Tony found unfair. Did Loki ever look like hell? Apparently not, because Loki caught him looking and grinned at him, entirely feral and possessive.

  
Should have been terrifying, Tony figured. It wasn’t.

  
Pepper’s voice came back into the room. “He showed yesterday with only the clothes on his back.”

  
“Oh, airlines these days, just totally shameful.” Replied a man’s voice, all sunshine and glitter. “I can’t make adjustments here, but we’ll get him in something presentable.”

  
Tony snickered, digging in the fridge for two bottles of water and tossing one to Loki, then claiming a chair to spectate as Pepper reappeared, helping carrying some flat clothing boxes along with a well-dressed younger man who already had a cloth tape measure draped across the back of his neck like it was installed there. “Morning, Jason, how have you been?”

  
“Good morning, Mr. Stark!” The young man said cheerfully, setting the stack of boxes down on the table. He had short dark hair, and the best word for him was impeccable, down to his clothing. He was actually one of the better tailors Tony had known, and he’d told Jason so, but Tony had stopped existing in Jason’s worldview. Jason was gaping at Loki, who was leaning by the balcony doors drinking some of his water. “Well, oh my goodness.” He clasped his hands together and looked at Pepper. “Where DO you pick up strays like this, Miss Potts?” Loki settled on an eyebrow lift, and Jason about died right then and there.

  
“Turns out they crash land in central park.” Pepper replied, smiling though.

  
“Oh. Mygawd. That was you?” Jason’s eyes widened, staring at Loki.

  
“That’s accurate enough, yes.” Loki shrugged.

  
“Oh the stories I hear while fitting clothes these days.” Jason opened the boxes up, considering Loki then waving him forward. “We have GOT to get you out of those pants.”

  
“Well if someone’s getting me out of my pants I’d at least like to know their name.” Loki replied, walking over, amused. “Jason, is it?”

  
Jason laughed and pulled the tape measure from behind his neck, starting to take measurements, his movements quick and professional. “Jason Hoffman. You are?”

  
“Loki Laufeyson.” Loki moved as prompted, watching the process curiously.

  
“Prince Loki Laufeyson.” Tony said, still spectating and wildly amused. Loki shot him a look.

  
“Prince? Here I thought I was keeping track of all the royalty, yet somehow I missed you and what a shame.” Jason stopped to write down a series of numbers.

  
“Loki is fine.” He replied in a voice tone that basically said ‘but call me prince all you like.’

  
“Mm, well, Prince, I do have some clothing along that will fit you but I’m sure Mr. Stark will back me up when I say that tailored is always better.” Jason was going through his boxes, presenting Loki with a set of slacks, a set of jeans, and two button down shirts. “If you would?”

  
Loki cheerfully took the clothes and stepped over to the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

  
“OmiGOD.” Jason said, staring after him.

  
“I know.” Tony replied. “Believe it or not, that’s Thor’s brother.”

  
“Thor?! Tall, broad, blonde Thor?” Jason made creative gestures to go along with this statement.

  
Tony was struggling not to laugh. “Yes, that Thor.”

  
Jason blinked a few times, considering, rubbing his chin. “Well his birth must have caused some disturbance in the god household.”

  
Tony was still laughing when Loki reemerged, in the slacks and still buttoning the blue shirt he was now wearing. “Would a green shirt be too much to ask for?”

  
Jason looked at him, then went back through the boxes. “I was sure I brought a turquoise…. HAH!” He came out from a box with a ridiculously turquoise green shirt, walking over and passing it to Loki after checking the tag. Loki shrugged and got back out of the blue shirt, swapping shirts right there and smiling as he did.

  
“Holy shit is that silk?” Tony wanted to know, watching the fabric settle around Loki’s body.

  
“It’s marvelous, whatever it is.” Loki replied.

  
“Yes, it’s silk.” Jason smiled. “Out of Italy.”

  
“Guess what Loki, you just got banned from cheap clothes.” Tony said.

  
“Unless we’re going to a metal show, or doing machine work?” He replied, smiling.

  
“Exception to every rule.”

  
“Well if the slacks fit, so should the jeans, but I’d still like you to try them on.” Jason said, and Loki smiled and shrugged, heading back to the bedroom.

  
“You okay, Pepper?” Tony wanted to know. She was leaning on the table watching all this with a smile.

  
“I’m just fine. Enjoying the show like you are.”

  
“You two are terrible.” Jason said. “And, so am I. I cannot WAIT to get that man into a suit.”

  
“Yeah, neither can I.” Tony said.

  
“I can hear everything you are saying…” Loki said in a singsong voice as he reemerged from the bedroom, now in jeans and the green button down silk shirt. “I think this will do just fine, for now.”

  
“Agreed.” Pepper said, and a few minutes later Loki was left with what he was wearing as well as two other shirts and the slacks, Pepper paying Jason and helping pack up what wasn’t used. “We’ll be by later, I’m sure. I’ll walk you out.”

  
“Always a pleasure.” Jason smiled, shaking hands with Loki and Tony, and walking out with Pepper, chattering away with her.

  
Tony stood and walked over to Loki, appraising the shirt he was wearing then looking him in the eye. “Much better.”

  
Loki snickered. “You were gawking over me like a prized stallion stud.”

  
“I’m sorry, you aren’t?” Tony faked shock then met him halfway for the kiss, grinning into it when Loki fisted his hands into Tony’s tanktop and pulled him in.

  
“Sir, Captain Rogers wants me to let you know he’s cooking a late breakfast in the rumpus room.” Jarvis remarked.

  
“Mmhm.” Tony replied, and settled for flipping Jarvis off.

* * *

 

The weather was grey and rainy, New York was deep into the fall, it was lucky that Loki had arrived on a nice day. Not that anyone minded, content to sit in the rumpus room and watch the rain on the balcony. During repair and renovation Steve had asked about getting an oven and cooktop put into the bar, and Tony had told him he was willing as long as it got used. And it turned out that Steve could cook, and so could Bruce, a little, so between the two of them they were usually able to satisfy the Avengers’ need for food.

  
They were still eating when Fury showed up, walking out of the elevator shaking rain out of his long coat, trailing a woman in a SHIELD uniform. “You people are bunch of pains in my ass.”

  
“Good morning, Fury.” Tony replied, swallowing. “Nice to see you too.”

  
Fury sent him a scowl, looking around the room. Loki set his plate down and stood, turning to face Fury and holding his arms out, showing his hands were empty as he stepped over. Fury crossed his arms and glared. “And you are the biggest pain of them all.”

  
“I’m honored.” Loki said, face straight.

  
Fury stared at him, then looked at Tony and pointed at him in a clear ‘I blame you for that’ gesture before looking back at Loki. “Do you really think you have ANY room to be smart with me?”

  
Loki looked around the room, looked at Fury, and shrugged, maintaining a straight face. “Well, I thought it out, Director Fury, and decided if I was meek, mild, and absolutely placid to your command you’d figure I was up to something, which I’m not. So, you understand.”

  
Thor planted his face in his hands and groaned. “Brother, please.”

  
“Do I not have a point?” Loki glanced at Thor.

  
“Oh, no. You have a hell of a point.” Fury’s voice was dark. “Realize this, if it was just up to me I’d be throwing your ass down a dark hole never to be seen again. But apparently, that’s how you ended up here.”

  
“Something like that.” Loki agreed.

  
“And now, you’re mortal. Which means I’m going to treat you like any other crazy person who happens to work for me.” Fury wove forward the SHIELD agent forward, and she stepped forward. She was carrying a briefcase, and she’d been watching Loki the entire time. “This is Doctor Annette Snitz. She is a psychologist, and she is going to evaluate you. No, you do not have a choice in this. If she gets one iota of a thought that you’ll be a problem, you’re going down a dark hole regardless.”

  
Loki blinked twice, looked at Annette, then back to Fury. “These are your terms?”

  
“For now.”

  
Loki shrugged. “We have an accord then.”

  
“I’d prefer to do this somewhere private.” Said Doctor Annette.

  
“Yeah, I gotcha.” Tony came over, passing Loki his plate as he walked by, heading to the far wall of the rumpus room and opening a door there, turning on lights to reveal a conference room. “Damn near soundproof. That work?”

  
“That will work perfectly.” She nodded, then turned to Loki. “Mr. Laufeyson?”

  
“Oh, ladies first by all means.” He replied, and followed her when she started walking, stepping into the room agreeably and closing the door behind him.

  
“And the liar meets one of the finest shrinks I’ve personally had the privilege of meeting.” Fury shook his head, looking at the Avengers, who looked back. “I can see why you get along. He fits right in.”

  
“He’s a former god of trickery. He’s going to try to mess with her head, you know that.” Natasha remarked.

  
Fury shrugged. “His funeral.”

* * *

 

The door stayed shut for several hours. Fury stayed, eventually getting breakfast off Steve and a drink from Tony, sitting in the conversation pit with the Avengers and waiting. Thor paced, shooting worried looks toward the door. Tony didn’t bother, playing video games with the guys and trading the controllers back and forth. He already knew Loki was damaged goods.

  
Eventually the door opened and Doctor Annette stepped out, holding a folder, expression unreadable. “We’re done here.”

  
“What’s the verdict?” Fury wanted to know, pausing the game. No one had laughed when he’d taken one of the passed off controllers. No one had dared to.

  
“Patient-doctor privilege, Director.” She picked up her briefcase. Fury gave her a frustrated look.

  
Tony slipped by her, leaning into the conference room and gaping. Loki was slumped over the fancy conferenced table there, leaning his forehead on his folded arms, shoulders shaking. He was making no move to get up and leave, so Tony stepped over and claimed the chair next to him, looking at him.

  
“She says I am sick.” Loki’s voice came out choked off. “Very sick. Stark, what kind of witch is she that knows the watchworks of the mind?”

  
“It’s called psychology. Call it the art of diagnosing illness of the mind.” Tony replied. “I’m sick too, remember? PTSD.”

  
Loki turned his head and peeked at Tony around his arms, eyes absolutely raw, like he’d been flayed alive inside. “I can’t even remember what she called what I have.”

  
“Mr. Stark, Mr. Laufeyson is in your care?” Doctor Annette asked, looking back into the room.

  
“Yes.” He replied. She disappeared again, and he leaned in the chair to look out the door. She was talking to Fury away from everyone else, Fury just looked frustrated. Everyone else was silent, waiting for the explanation, so he looked back to Loki. “You want to stay here a few minutes?”

  
“…No.”

  
Tony stood and offered him a hand up, Loki shook his head and stood on his own, getting his balance with some effort and walking out into the main room with Tony.

  
“Brother.” Thor walked over and clasped Loki’s shoulders, looking at Loki’s raw, haunted expression. Loki winced a bit but didn’t pull away, hanging his head.

  
“I can’t tell you details but I can give a broad explanation if he’ll allow it.” Annette finally said to the room, looking at Loki, who nodded silently. “At this moment, it seems to be two disorders stacked, acting together. This is probably the best place for him because he has support here. Isolating him will just exacerbate the problem. I’d recommend therapy and medication, bare minimum. And make sure he stays busy.”

  
“Is he dangerous?” Fury asked bluntly.

  
Annette sighed and shrugged. “More to himself than other people. Violent tendencies do come with one of the disorders, but again, isolation will only make this worse.”

  
“Everyone here has violent tendencies.” Clint said this quietly. “Some more than others.”

  
“And you can heal this?” Thor said, voice full of wonder.

  
“We can try. It’ll take time. I’ll write some prescriptions for medication. It may take a few days before you see some changes. Psychotropics are slow burn.” She was writing on script paper. “Under normal circumstances I would recommend a local psychologist for therapy, but…”

  
“Welcome to your new assignment, Doctor Snitz.” Fury replied.

  
“Director.” She paused in writing, looking at him.

  
“I’m sure Stark will only be too glad to arrange first class seats or a private jet for your regular trips here. And a car to bring you from the airport.” Fury looked at Tony.

  
“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Tony replied, fully realizing he was being railroaded, but not too concerned about it either. “Weekly, every other week, what? Just let me know.”

  
Annette only quirked an eyebrow at him and finished writing. “One to start then we adjust. Sadly everything he has is medication resistant, but we can treat the side symptoms.”

  
“Will you stop talking about me like I’m not here?” Loki demanded, voice gaining that little hysterical edge again then oofing when Thor’s reply was to rope him into a bear hug. “Thor? Get off.”

  
Annette folded the prescription and made a come here gesture to Tony, stepping away from everyone else before passing the folded paper. “I imagine you can get this filled for him.”

  
“Of course.” He replied.

  
“You’re not surprised at all by this.”

  
“No, I already knew, this is just a gauge of how bad it is.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t change anything.” He looked at the script paper, ignoring her scowl, then looked at her. “That’s some heavy duty stuff. Going off label a bit are we?”

  
She folded her arms and frowned at him. “I won’t have my professional decisions judged by you, Mr. Stark, however, do note the dosage.”

  
“I did.” He refolded it. “Frankly? I like him just how he is, though I hate how he seems to hurt sometimes.”

  
“I know. He talked about you, a lot. He didn’t say it as such but you mean a lot to him. Which is why you’re over here talking to me. For someone with his issues to say he trusts someone and cares about their opinions, and to be honest about it? It’s significant.”

  
“You going to tell me what he has or what because I will find out, Doctor.”

  
“It’s a Cluster B personality disorder, and that is all I am telling you. At this point, I think every other week in person and the alternating weeks over video will do for therapy. I’ll let you know when I’d like to come in, so you can arrange transportation.”

  
“You know, I am getting the distinct idea you don’t like me very much.”

  
“Call it preemptive anger, because I’m sure ten minutes after I leave you’ll have my personnel file, facebook, and everything else on display and be reading through it. I’ve read about you as well, Mr. Stark.”

  
Tony blinked, then started laughing. “That’s fair. Alright, just let me know.”

  
She nodded and stepped away, walking back over to Fury, who was watching Thor force-hug Loki. Which was roughly like watching someone trying to hold a cat which DID NOT WANT TO BE HELD, thank you. “Captain? Thanks for breakfast.”

  
“No problem at all.” Steve replied, mildly surprised.

  
Fury stood there for a moment more, then shook his head, gesturing at Loki. “Good luck with that.” Then he was gone, Annette close behind him, already talking to her.

  
Loki gave up and started yelling in a hard Germanic sounding language and finally escaped from Thor’s arms, hiding behind Tony and rattling a bit.

  
“I’m not translating that.” Jarvis said quietly, to a round of snickers from the conversation pit.

  
“Thor have you ever heard the phrase ‘you’re not helping’?” Tony finally asked.

  
“More than I’d like to admit.” Thor replied.

  
“I wish I was surprised. Jarvis? Cluster B personality disorders, overview.”

  
“Cluster B, dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders. Included in Cluster B are Antisocial Personality Disorder, Borderline, Histrionic Personality Disorder, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Key symptom overviews include lack of empathy, instability, attention seeking, self-harming, and a need for admiration.”

  
“…Damn.” Bruce said.

  
“Yeah, Loki, I think she got you.” Clint said.

  
“Not to be a shit, but I think that’s all of us. Some more than others.” Tony replied.

  
“Hey? Speak for yourself.” Natasha replied.

  
He rolled his eyes. “That said, everyone’s good with this right? Clint?”

  
“I already said it once. It’s probably better he’s here.”

  
“So you can put me down like a rabid dog if I start becoming a problem?” Loki’s voice was odd, still standing behind Tony. When Clint didn’t answer, he walked around to Clint and leaned down to look him in the eyes. “If that’s the case, then it’ll be an honor when it happens.”

  
“And it won’t be.” Tony was right behind him, cheerfully scruffing Loki and pulling him away. “Come on, I need you to put your crappy clothes back on because I’m going to rebuild an engine and you’re going to help me.”  
“Do I have a choice about this?” Loki wanted to know, getting drug along.

  
“Nope. You need out of this room.”

* * *

 

Everyone watched them go, doing a lot of head shaking.

  
“How the hell does he do that?” Clint wanted to know. “He manhandles Loki and Loki just goes with it?”

  
“The Man of Iron has put himself into a curious position where my brother trusts him.” Thor said. “And it is a good thing but it hurts to know that Loki will trust him, blindly, and not me.”

  
“That explains a lot.” Bruce suddenly said, on his phone. When everyone looked at him, he continued, reading from his phone. “Another symptom is incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment.”

  
Everyone else blinked.

  
“Alright. He’s insane. Fine.” Steve said, standing. “Tony’s handling it. If Loki wants our help, we help, but otherwise? Let’s wait a week and see how this plays out. Because right now I’m agreeing with Tony. We’re just waiting to see the trajectory for the next explosion.”


	4. Chapter 4

Loki had been in the small, isolated mechanics shop for a few hours before he realized that he was treading on what was the closest thing Tony Stark had to sacred ground. He’d seen the labs before, on his last visit, he’d watched Tony work with Bruce and Steve keep up as much as he could. But this place was different than the labs. Gone was the flash and polish, the over the top feeling that came with the reasonable conclusion that Tony lived by the mantra ‘nothing but the best.’

  
No, this shop was away from everything else, down in the garage levels of the building. Cars and motorcycles were lined up, and the row closest to the elevators had signs up marking them as Avengers parking. There was another group of cars that seemed to just belong to Tony, and one of them was covered as they walked by and he unlocked the shop.

  
Still spotless, still organized, but all practical. There were a few computer screens in here too but they were almost superfluous, because this was a room for Stark’s love affairs with machines and engines.

  
It took time for this to sink into Loki, partly because his state of mind was a mess. He was reeling, feeling like he’d been dealt a sucker punch to someplace he didn’t know he had. He hadn’t been aware that such medicine and healers existed. Oh, the healers of Asgard were wonderful but they were no experts on troubles of the mind. When he’d stepped into the conference room with Annette he’d figured it was a matter of a game, a feint, making himself seem stable.

  
And she’d cut him to his knees, nearly in passing, flayed him open, spread everything out to look for the interesting bits. And he’d been helpless to stop her, because Fury would have seen that as rejection of the terms of agreement, so he suffered. And she’d known he was in pain, and he’d left the room feeling broken, violated, somehow scarred.

  
Tony Stark believed in no religions, in no gods. Loki knew that. But in this room, filled with the smell of oil and grease as Tony showed how to dismantle the engine of one of his cars, showing what they were looking for, it was oddly soul cleansing as well as educational. This was ceremony to Tony, this was worship, with all the hallmarks of belief and passion and intensity. He got the idea that few others came into this room, and he’d been invited in, brought into it, shown a tiny, precious sliver of the former playboy’s life.

  
This was a way that Tony comforted himself, and he’d welcomed Loki in to try to share that. And when that finally hit, he found himself looking across the table at Tony, who had a piston in his hand and was off somewhere in thought, and realizing that this was probably something the Avengers had not seen.

  
“Who helps you down here?” Loki asked, assisting as he was able, Tony had been keeping him involved.

  
“No one, really.” Tony replied. “Sometimes Pepper comes down to talk to me, that’s it.”

  
“That’s what I thought, honestly.” Seeing the look, Loki sighed. “This seems more personal to you than your bed does.”

  
“It is.” The shorter man replied, stopping for a moment, leaning on the engine stand. “A lot of people don’t get it either, but what is there to get? Yeah I slept around a lot. It just so happens I really like sex, and there was always someone willing to oblige, but after? I’d just forget about them. Because the women who gunned after me were after the power and prestige and money. They didn’t want this.” He wove a hand to encompass the room. “They didn’t want me. They didn’t KNOW me. Most of them couldn’t understand a word when I started talking about the work I actually enjoyed. They were either in it for the same reason I was or to try to land me because, right, I’m going to marry someone who decided screwing me right after meeting me was a great idea.”

  
“Somehow I suspect even you have more self-respect than that.” Loki replied.

  
Tony laughed, long and loud, and got back to work, still grinning.

  
Eventually the door to the room opened and Pepper was standing there, looking in. “How long have you guys been down here?”

  
“I have no earthly idea.” Loki replied, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes.

  
She leaned there for a moment and looked at them, both marked with oil on their skin and clothes, Tony’s usual relaxed grin he got when he did this, and Loki’s puzzled happiness. “Well, I have a bit of free time. So if you still want to get Loki a wardrobe I’m going to have to insist on you both showering.”

  
“What, the machine shop thing not turning you on today?” Tony asked, holding up his hands.

  
“I swear, if you touch me when your hands are like that…” Pepper said, backing slowly away. She was in a pale green suit, and Loki could see her argument.

  
Tony grinned, and Pepper fled, running quite well on her high heeled shoes considering. Tony chased, cackling, and Loki brought up the rear, shutting off the shop lights and pulling the door closed behind them.

* * *

 

“So, Steve told me you had a hard day today.” Pepper said. She was sitting in back with Loki. Tony had decided he was driving and had somehow ended up as chauffer, not that he minded.

  
“Apparently I have a sick mind.” Loki replied, clean and back in the good clothes, oddly relaxed.

  
She tilted her head at him, biting back half a dozen comments that were more fitting of Tony to make because it just didn’t seem appropriate. “Jarvis did tell me that Director Fury brought a doctor from SHIELD with him.”

  
“Mm, yes, that woman.” Loki stretched out and laced his fingers behind his head.

  
Tony looked at him in the mirror. “You’re in a better mood.”

  
“As … jarring as my discussion with that woman was, I’ve decided it matters very little for the moment, beyond that it allowed me to stay here.”

  
“How do you figure?” Tony lifted an eyebrow at him over his shoulder. Loki smiled back, that weird satisfied I’m-fucking-clever smile he could do.

  
“Well, nothing has changed. What she did? Changed nothing. Yes I apparently will have to suffer talking to her more, and taking some kind of Midgardian medicine, but…” He shifted, leaning against the car door.

  
“Stop being sexy in my car when I’m driving.”

  
Loki burst into laughter, long and loud. “And that is my point. If I am so broken, so sick, how did I end up here? How do I get to sleep in your bed?” He shifted again and leaned forward between the front seats, grinning at Tony. “And keep your eyes on the road.” That said, he flopped back like had been, smirking at Pepper, who was watching his every move.

  
“You are such a brat.” Pepper said, grinning.

  
“I was under the impression you both found it endearing.”

  
“He is going to be the death of both of us.” Tony said, grinning.

  
“Oooohh, but won’t it be fun?”

  
Tony eventually found a parking spot, muttering about this being a hell of a lot easier in Malibu, and Pepper led them down the sidewalk. Tony was still dressed casual, mostly because he figured if he was spending the money he could show up to the boutiques however he wanted, besides, they were the one who’d tailored his jeans. Loki walked even with them, hair down and walking that I-own-everything strut he had, smiling to himself.

  
“Was a time that I saw that expression and figured you were up to something.” Tony said, opening the door of the store and holding it for them.

  
“You say that as if there’s a time when I’m not.” Loki replied, grinning at him as he stepped into the store, looking around. “Yes, I’ll take it.”

  
“What, even the lingerie?” Tony wanted to know. “Because there’s a women’s section.”

  
Pepper burst into laughter. “Boys!”

  
“Welcome back, Miss Potts!” Jason said, appearing from the back grinning. “Mr. Stark, Prince Laufeyson.”

  
“I told you we’d be by.” Pepper replied. Loki wasn’t even trying to tone down his grin. “Sorry that it’s this late in the day.”

  
“Oh, no apologies necessary at all, it gave us time to put a bunch of clothes together right.” Jason replied. “That said, it is hard to cover an entire wardrobe’s worth of choices in one shopping trip.”

  
“Right now we’re just working the basics. Day to day wear, maybe something formal. We can go from there.” Pepper replied.

  
“Well, those don’t belong here.” Loki had wandered and behind a counter hanging up were some of the Avengers Initiative shirts, all signed in sharpie. “Or is this some kind of trophy collection?”

  
“That is the case. Mr. Stark’s been bringing in his more interesting coworkers for fittings, and we just couldn’t resist.” Jason replied, walking over.

  
“He’s Trickery.” Tony replied.

  
And just that fast, Jason had a shirt and a marker in his hand. “Really?”

  
Loki burst into laughter. “If I must.”

  
“Oh you must.” Jason replied.

  
“Am I going to have to create a store rule about bothering superheroes?” Asked a woman’s voice, a middle aged well-dressed woman walking over and watching this, amused.

  
“He’s just fine.” Loki replied, writing on the shirt cheerfully then handing it back.

  
Jason stared at the shirt, then turned it so everyone else could see the runic writing on it.

  
“Norse.” Loki smiled sweetly.

  
Jason looked at it again, then burst into laughter. “It’s perfect. Wow. I’ll put it up later. Let’s get you some clothes.”

  
“Yes, please, because I am rather enjoying this shirt.”

* * *

 

“I think I’ve figured him out.” Tony said, sitting in one of the chairs of the boutique and watching Loki. Pepper was sitting next to him, also watching. Occasionally they were used as a voting panel, but it really was more a case of enjoying the show, because three different tailors had descended upon Loki and it was pretty obvious he loved it.

  
“Really?” Pepper glanced at Tony, lifting an eyebrow.

  
“He’s a diva. And gods help anyone who disagrees.”

  
“Well, by that metric so are you.” Pepper quirked her mouth.

  
“You love me.” He replied, smiling, then grinning when she laughed and nodded.

  
Jason walked over, grinning. “Thank you for bringing him by. We haven’t had this much fun getting someone fitted in some time. He is SO catty.”

  
“Oh, had a question for you actually.” Tony dug his phone out and went through his picture gallery, eventually finding the picture he was looking for and passing it over.

  
Jason took it and lifted an eyebrow, peering at it. “That is quite the outfit.”

  
“Battle armor. He doesn’t have it anymore, but I’d like to get the jacket redone for him. I can get you a lot more pictures, and better ones, I’m just wondering if you can do it.”

  
“Well, it won’t be armor obviously but we could redo it in leather.” Jason gnawed on his lower lip briefly, thinking it over. “It won’t be cheap, and it won’t be fast. It’d be artisan leathercraft and that takes a lot of time.”

  
“I’d rather have it done right.”

  
“Miss Potts has our email here. Send us pictures, we’ll need full turnaround and detail shots if you can. I have his measurements, so that’s not a problem.” He passed Tony’s phone back.

  
“Sure.” The way Tony figured it, that wouldn’t be hard. Loki had worn the armor through a decent portion of his first visit, so Jarvis had all of the footage of the common areas archived, somewhere. Just a manner of finding good enough shots to get the detailing of the jacket.

  
“Midgard is starting to become very appealing to me.” Loki’s voice said, coming out from the dressing rooms in a charcoal colored designer suit. Someone had even found him a subtle green and black tie.  
“It’s definitely you.” Tony grinned.

  
“Really.” Loki walked over, almost prowling, turning on heel once into a spin to show how the fabric lapped around him.

  
Jason made a tiny noise, hands clutching each other and eyes wide. “OhmiGAWD, how are you real?”

  
When Loki only grinned and flipped his hair back, Tony grinned and shook his head. “Okay, I think we’ve buffed your ego enough.”

  
“Stark, you say that like I can ever dream to have an ego that compares to yours.” Loki kept the grin, eyes full of mischief.

  
“Oh you are paying for that later.” Tony burst into laughter when Loki’s response was a ‘come at me bro’ pose. “Be careful what you wish for. Jason, what all does he want?”

  
“Um, er. … I’ll go get a list.” And the tailor was gone, ear tips bright red.

  
“Well, he’s going to have good dreams for a few days.” Pepper said after a moment.

  
“I’m not sure I want to take this off.” Loki remarked, looking at himself in the mirrors.

  
“I don’t blame you, they did a good job.” Tony replied, getting to his feet and stepping over, feeling the fabric of the jacket between his fingers. “Quality material, too. They’ll probably let you wear it out, actually.”

  
“That would be nice of them.”

  
“Yeah, it’s more than fine.” Jason came over carrying a list, passing it off to Tony, who barely batted an eye before passing it back.

  
“Work on ringing it up and enjoy the commission.”

  
“Yes, sir!” Jason grinned and was gone again.

  
“I’d never be able to wear something like this at home.” Loki sighed. “It’s too cold, and the dangers are too brutal.”

  
“My general impression has been Alaska plus monsters when it comes to Asgard.” Tony replied. “That said, it’s safe enough here to wear whatever you want.”

  
“I feel like I should have some kind of armor though.” He said this thoughtfully, walking after Tony and Pepper through the store.

  
Tony blinked, leaning on the counter with the register and digging out his wallet, watching the stacks of boxes appear and get packed up. “Huh, that feels like something we should talk about later.”

  
“Perhaps.” He paused, then tilted his head. “You know, I left my books in the quiet places.”

  
“Well, now that you’re here we’ll get you an e-reader. How’s that?”

  
“..A what?”

* * *

 

“While I do miss the feel of the paper I think I will bow to the convenience of this toy.” Loki said, sitting in the back again, leaning against the door with his legs up on the seat, playing with his new e-reader. Pepper had claimed shotgun. The trunk was packed with the day’s pillaging.

  
“That’s how I felt about it.” Pepper replied. “It’s easy to pack up when I travel.”

  
“So now that we’re not in the middle of a store…” Tony said, glancing over his shoulder at Loki and getting an absolutely smoldering look in return that didn’t leave much doubt about the kind of mood Loki was in. “Why do you think you need armor?”

  
“The chitauri told me that if I failed, they would see me tortured and dead at all costs and there was nowhere I could hide.” Loki didn’t look at either of them, still pondering the e-reader. “Being imprisoned on Asgard rather cloaked my location, but I do wonder if they have the ability to find me here. I wouldn’t want to bring risk down on any of you, but…”

  
“But you might be bringing a fight to our doorstep anyway.” Tony finished. “Are we talking fleets of those guys again, or smaller groups, or what?”

  
“I cannot say. Either way, if I am as you say bringing the fight here, I may as well be able to fight, and with the fragility of this body, that does necessitate some armor and weaponry.”

  
“I see your point but I really don’t know what the others will think about it. That said, no reason why we couldn’t work on something in the interim.”

  
Loki smiled at him. “I do appreciate how much you trust me.”

  
“Well, you have me curious now. I need to show you how to work my design gear in the lab so I can see what you’re thinking about for this.”

  
“I already know Fury won’t like this.” Pepper said, thoughtful. “But then again… it might prove the point in your guys’ favor if he’s fighting next to you.” She looked back at Loki, smirking when she saw his look. “Someone’s in a mood.”

  
“You have no idea.”

  
“Oh, I can guess.”

  
“Driving… DRIVING…” Tony said, hands tightening on the steering wheel of the car as Loki and Pepper shared a kiss. “Not fair, I can’t even watch.”

  
Loki snickered and nuzzled Pepper once the kiss eased out. “Jealous?”

  
“Your mouth is starting to write checks your body is going to have difficulty cashing.” Tony muttered, focusing on getting back to the tower so he could get Loki the hell out of that suit.

  
“I’d certainly like to find out.”

  
“You’re terrible.” Pepper giggled.

  
Eventually, with much tormenting of Tony, they arrived back at the tower, leaving the boxes and bags in the trunk for the moment and going up to the lobby to pilfer a mail cart, only to find Thor there, holding the attention of probably a few dozen visitors. His voice was over the top, ringing in the lobby, he was clearly in storyteller mode, amusing the tourists, much to their glee.

  
“Thor, if you were any more camp you’d be Burning Man.” Tony announced, walking over.

  
This brought a wave of laughter from the tourists and a baffled look from Thor. “Evening, Man of Iron, we were all wondering where you had disappeared to.”

  
“That should be obvious enough.” Said Loki, stepping up even with Tony, walk slow and a smile playing across his mouth.

  
“Brother! It is good to see you smiling.” Thor forgot the tourists for a moment, grinning. “I see the Man of Iron took you for clothing.”

  
“Oh, yes.”

  
“Yeah, just think, if you’d agree to such a shopping trip you could look as good as him.” Tony said, patting Thor’s shoulder and turning, grabbing Loki’s tie and leading him along for a second as he walked away, then letting it slide through his fingers to drop it, to a few hoots and hollers from the tourists.

  
“Ta.” Loki said over his shoulder, grinning and following Tony. “How often does he do that, pray tell?”

  
“I don’t even know.”

  
“How often do you mock him so?”

  
“Are you kidding, it’s a sport around here. But it’s only because we love him to death, frankly.”

  
Pepper was leaning on the receptionist desk, watching them. “I’m for unloading the car later.”

  
“Yes. I’m for this.” Tony replied.

  
Loki laughed and threw an arm around each of their shoulders as they walked to the elevator.

* * *

 

Loki was sprawled out on the bed on his stomach, still wearing his unbuttoned silk shirt, purring. At least, that was the only way Tony could think of it, a low soft happy noise, barely louder than the whirr of his arc reactor.

  
He and Pepper getting Loki out of his suit, to Loki’s ego-stroked glee, had only seemed to solidify what Tony was starting to suspect: that this was exactly where Loki was supposed to be. Yeah, the taller man was obviously mortal. He and Pepper had made attempts to put some serious hurt on him the first time they’d taken him to bed, when he was still a demigod, trying to find where his edge and push him over it, but Loki had fought back in kind, which had led to marathon sex and he and Pepper eventually pinning Loki to the bed as they slept.

  
But now, it seemed Loki had been shoved into a totally new body, hot crackling sensitive nerves and a bit of nervousness but totally complicit, both relaxed and excited in their arms. Yeah, Tony admitted he missed those unreal alien catlike eyes shining at him, missed being able to bury his face into hair that would inevitably smell like wintergreen, but he could deal with it. Because he’d felt like he’d had demigod Loki on loan, and he had. This Loki was one he could keep. If he was lucky.

  
He sat next to Loki and rubbed a hand up his back, under the shirt, and grinned at the sensual arch this got, the taller man pushing up against his hand with a sigh. “So. How’s mortality working out for you?”

  
“I feel as if I get tired far easier…” Loki murmured. “But I also feel like I get sated on a… more reasonable time schedule.”

  
“So far, so good?” He lifted an eyebrow.

  
“It would seem so.”

  
“What’s with the shirt?”

  
“It feels marvelous.”

  
Pepper wandered back in, wearing a robe, and burst into laughter at Loki’s voice tone. “Might be time to buy some silk sheets, Tony.”

  
“They make bed sheets out of this?” Loki asked, picking his head up.

  
“Oh, hell no, have you ever slept on silk?” Tony said at the same time. “I tried that once, I kept sliding off the bed somehow in the middle of the night.” Seeing Loki’s expression, he sighed. “Fine. I’ll get you a silk flat sheet but the fitted sheet is staying high count cotton.”

  
“Sounds like a reasonable deal to me.” Pepper crawled onto the bed, joining them in the middle, laughing again when Loki rolled and stretched out like a cat then sat up. “You are shameless.”

  
“What do I have to be ashamed of?” Loki wanted to know, lifting an eyebrow.

  
Both of them declined to answer, because former demigod or not, Loki’s body had not noticed the ‘former’ when it came to some things. Instead Tony roped them both into a three way hug, leaning their foreheads together and staying there a moment, snickering when Loki nestled into them both and tightened his grip.

  
“I’m keeping the both of you.” Loki announced.

  
“Seems like the other way around, tiger.” Pepper replied. Loki pouted. Both looked at Tony after a moment when he said nothing, Loki tilting his head when he saw Tony’s eyes had widened, but saw nothing at all. “Oh, boy, that’s math mode.”  
Tony twitched and pulled away, kissing both their foreheads and diving off the bed, grabbing for clothes. “Idea, idea, sorry, back later, swear it, just…” And he had jeans zipped up, shrugging into his shirt as he walked and grabbing shoes because barefoot in the lab was a huge no-no, gone out the bedroom door and out of the apartment in less than a minute, putting his shoes on in the elevator.

  
Loki stared after him, then looked at Pepper, baffled.

  
“Yeah. That happens.” She was smiling ruefully. “Haven’t seen it in a few months but sometimes he just freezes up because something in the back of his mind suddenly fit into place. His orgasms can turn into design epiphanies.”

  
“Something in the back of his mind.” Loki flopped back down, pulling Pepper with him so they were lying on their sides facing each other.

  
“Yeah. The way he’s told me, he’s always thinking. There’s always math going through his head. I’ve seen him come out of a dead sleep and rattle something off to Jarvis then pass back out.” She shrugged.

  
“The taxes of living with a genius?” Loki lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Seems that way.” She nestled against him, and he agreeably wrapped an arm around her, smiling.

* * *

 

“Jarvis, my music.” Tony said, turning on the Keurig coffee machine as he walked by it, there was already a mug of his sitting in it waiting. He turned everything on, starting up his lab and sitting on a rolling stool, pulling on his VR gloves as music came up. “No. Faster tempo.” The music changed up. “Perfect, thank you.”

  
How had he missed this? It was so fucking obvious, now! He called up the design he’d been working on and trashed it, starting over, leaning over and picking up his coffee mug once it had filled without thinking about it. The design mutated and changed and snapped into place, and then begat a few spinoffs, throwing the wireframes to the side when he was done, gone into that place where mind because virtual reality to eventually become reality.

  
“Tony?”

  
He looked up and grinned. “Hey, Bruce, come on in, I’ve got some good things going on in here.”

  
Bruce grinned and stepped in, adjusting his glasses and pulling a stool around to sit by Tony, already wearing gloves of his own and pulling one of the finished wireframes over, studying it. “Oh, wow. You fixed it!”

  
“I know, right?” He drained some of the already cooling coffee, or was it his second? He wasn’t sure.

  
“I mean, it’s rough but…” He saw Tony’s look, and enlarged the model, pulling it over so Tony could look. “We could definitely polish this up.”

  
Tony tilted his head, watching it rotate in Bruce’s hands. “Agreed.” He shoved the half-finished spinoff away, because changing this one would change the others anyway. “You good for this for a while?”

  
“Always.” Bruce grinned at him.

  
And the hours rolled merrily by. At some point the playlist clicked over to the more mixed genre list that Bruce preferred, and he didn’t care, because he and Bruce were working and it was elation, that weird joy of creation and an adrenaline rush not unlike launching the MK VII. He’d been dead in the water for months and known it, designs rough and wrong and languishing, focusing on the machine side of the house because that was straightforward and he didn’t have to watch himself fail, and fail.

  
And now, things were snapping into place.

  
Eventually the music volume was turned down and they were left sitting there, empty mugs in front of them and staring at the forest of wireframes in front of them. Some of it had already been kicked over to the automated shop Jarvis ran, parts being cut for practical trials.

  
“Well, we haven’t solved the energy crisis yet, but…” Tony shrugged, rubbing at one of his itching eyes.

  
“Pfft, Tony.” Bruce said, and in a move shoved his stool closer, wrapping an arm around him. Tony twisted and turned it into an actual hug, sitting there with Bruce and smiling.

  
“Thanks.” He said after a long moment, pulling back when Bruce started laughing. “What?”

  
Bruce took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “You’re unbelievable.”

  
He looked at the designs, then back to his design partner. “And?”

  
“No, just… When I showed up you were practically neon with afterglow and smelled like sex and you were so far gone into design mode you had no idea.” He watched Tony’s expression. “And you had no idea until I just said that.”

  
“Well, this is awkward.”

  
“Oh, I figured it out before Loki left the last time, you lucky poly bastard.” Bruce’s smile was rueful. “I love you to death. I’ve never been able to do this with anyone.” He reached over and picked up one of the wireframes. “But this bizarre brainsex we have is as far as it gets. You know that.”

  
“Yeah. I know. … I’m sorry.”

  
“Don’t be. Not your fault, it’s mine. I wish I wasn’t a risk.”

  
“You’ve never been a risk.” Tony gave him a look. “And I’m apologizing because I offered Loki a lab job.”

  
Bruce only blinked once. “And what’s education like on Asgard? I don’t think we can use our resident Asgard Jock as a measuring stick, gods love him.”

  
“That’s the thing, I don’t know. I told him he’d have to pass a bunch of aptitude tests.” Tony blinked back at him. “You’re okay with this idea? I mean it does kind of intrude on… this.”

  
“We’ll have to see how it works. Depends what he’s good at once he catches the flow of things in here.” He saw the look, and did the rueful smile again, gesturing at the designs. “Tony, he’s good for you. He’s crazy, violent, off balance and unrepentant and good for you. Look at all this.”

  
“Yeah, but I’m not going to fuck up your comfort zone here, man. I’ve worked hard to make sure you feel anchored here, and the last thing I want to do is hurt you in any way.”

  
Bruce nodded, but then he already knew that. Tony, for all his attitude and digs and general lack of fucks to give at the appropriate time, loved them all in his own bizarre way. He showed it by adopting all of them and throwing good clothing at them, and taking them out to dinner, and being utterly trusting. Tony slept anywhere, leaning against anyone. Tony wiseassed and fixed their stuff and was a pain in the ass because that’s just how he was. And Bruce had known the situation was shifting right after the battle over a year ago, when they’d been eating and Tony had been half watching him. He’d kept refusing Tony’s offer just to see how far the other man would go to keep him from taking off for parts unknown. Mean, but he’d been honestly curious, and had caved laughing when Tony had snapped and said “Look, do you want me to hang the moon? Drain an ocean? Start a space program? World peace? Give me a price I am dying here, I want you I need you to stay.” And he had. And he’d never looked back, not even during that sad moment when Tony had been hugging him from behind in one the labs, cheek resting on the back of his neck, without words and unable to react when Bruce had had to tell him no.

  
And he had no doubt Tony would have figuratively took a knife to his own chest and sent Loki with Fury if he thought his teammates couldn’t handle it. He’d simply known they could, and that he could make it up to them.

  
“Sometimes it’s okay to do something for yourself.” Bruce finally said.

  
Tony gaped at him and wove his arms around at, well, everything. “Hello?”

  
“Don’t be obtuse. Look, I liked Loki when he visited last. I liked watching him frustrate the fuck out of you. You work best when you have people pushing back at you. If he can get his feet under himself, if he’s smart enough… he could be a huge help in here. We don’t have a lot of help you know.”

  
“Well, we scared the last batch of interns.”

  
And all Bruce could do was laugh, and save everything and shut down the lab, hauling Tony to the elevator and dumping him on the right floor, sending him to bed as dawn threatened to break.


	5. Chapter 5

Loki woke up with a start, sitting up and shaking his head, taking stock of the room. Tony was asleep next to him, Pepper was gone. Sunlight filled the room.

  
He remembered Tony staggering in in the early morning hours, totally exhausted and smelling of coffee. He and Pepper had gotten him undressed and pulled him back into bed, Tony mumbling between them a bit then passing out. The shorter man had been borderline incoherent, but Loki remembered him saying “we did good things” and “Bruce loves me.” To which Pepper had only giggled and told him yes, of course he does, go to sleep.

  
He remembered Pepper getting up and going to work, kissing them both and telling him to be good.

  
And now, by his reckoning, he’d slept more than enough.

  
He took his time in the shower and drying off afterwards. At some point, his new clothes had come up and were stacked by the bedroom door, still in the boxes. Probably Pepper’s doing, he thought, especially since there was a folded “Trickery” shirt on top of it. He put it on, and without a whole lot of thought on the matter tore off the poor quality oil-marked jeans into short pants, just above the knee, thinking he needed to get his hands on some exercise clothing.

  
There were muffins in the kitchen and he grabbed one as well as a bottle of water, walking barefoot out of the apartment to the elevator. “Jarvis?”

  
“Good morning, Mr. Laufeyson.” The voice from above asked.

  
“Remind me, what floor was that exercise area?”

  
The elevator opened, and one of the floor buttons lit up, so he pushed it, eating the muffin and reflecting a bit on the fact that this strange tower had already become home. Yeah, Tony had offered him his own apartment but he couldn’t imagine not sleeping in the large bed with the other two. Happily they seemed to want him there. Good enough. More than good enough.

  
The lights came on in the gym as he walked in, surveying an array of machines and weights, the glassed off enclosure in the back clean and empty. He had the entire floor to himself, and walked around, taking in the variety of ways Midgardians apparently kept themselves fit. All this and yet…

  
“Jarvis.” He finally said, looking at the empty enclosure. “What would I have to do to get my hands on a practice weapon?”

  
“I assume you mean a non-combat weapon weighted correctly for the practice of form?” Jarvis asked. “What are you looking for?”

  
“I want a staff.”

  
“Understood, would you prefer a traditional Japanese Bo or a custom design?”

  
He gave the ceiling a funny look and a screen nearby turned on and came up with pictures, so he walked over and pondered it, rubbing his chin. “That’ll work fine. What kind of material?”

  
“They are traditionally carved out of hard wood, with rattan used for a practice weapon. I could just as easily manufacture one out of, say, carbon fiber, or metal.”

  
“You can make one of these?” He lifted an eyebrow.

  
“I admit I don’t have access to rattan at the moment.” Jarvis conceded. “The other materials I have on hand, I could easily turn something out in under an hour.”

  
“Ooooo.” He grinned. “Yes, please. Surprise me.”

  
Now, what to do with an hour?

* * *

 

Steve was surprised that the gym was lit up when he walked in, and that music was on the overhead. Sounded like Tony’s playlist, he thought, but he’d run into Bruce and he was certain that Tony was still asleep at this point. So he paced through the gym and ended up standing in the entrance to the sparring enclosure, eyebrow up, watching Loki work.

  
Loki had his eyes closed, holding a bar from the free weights set, wielding it like a staff, barefoot and marked with sweat. He was obviously listening to the music because he was working with the beat, but it was also clear he wasn’t totally here, fighting his way through an imaginary battlefield. Pretty goddamn impressive, really, Steve thought, considering that bar probably weighed forty pounds.

  
Then Loki’s hand slipped and the bar went flying, slamming into the glass, and Loki went off in another language, opening his eyes and shaking his hand out, going quiet when he saw Steve.

  
“The balance is... poor.” Loki finally said after a moment, walking over and picking up a water bottle from on the floor, draining the rest of it.

  
Steve lifted an eyebrow. “I think I’ll bow to your expertise. I thought you were a sorcerer.”

  
“I am. I was.” Loki gave him a strange look. “I was raised with Thor. We trained together. Keeping him at a distance was a survival tactic.”

  
“So, staves, polearms…”

  
“And knives.”

  
“How’s your hand to hand combat?”

  
Loki looked at him, then grinned. “Why Captain Rogers is that an invitation?”

  
“Of course. Practice is never a bad thing.” Plus, it’d let him take a good long look at his former enemy’s fighting form.

  
“Oh, I do agree.” And Loki backed up slowly, grinning and making a come-on gesture.

  
And what Steve quickly learned was that Loki was very good at evasion, and it wasn’t running away. Those green eyes were sharp, narrowed, evaluating, then suddenly Loki started in high, switched, came in low, right between Steve’s arms and stopping his elbow a quarter inch from Steve’s nose, eyebrow up.

  
“Do not underestimate me just because I am Midgardian, Captain America.”

  
Lesson learned. But the fight didn’t continue, because the next words out of Steve’s mouth were “Show me how you did that.” And suddenly it was shop talk, comparing techniques and stances, exchanging what they knew, old American boxing techniques and military CQC trading up with Asgardian hand to hand combat. Steve also found himself reminding Loki to drink something, handing him Gatorade, because he wasn’t entirely sure Loki was quite aware of his body yet.

  
“Mr. Laufeyson, you may pick up your weapon from the manufacturing level.” Jarvis said over the music.

  
“What floor is that?” He replied, heading for the door of the enclosure and looking over his shoulder at Steve. “I will return briefly.” That said, he walked through the gym to the elevator, passing Clint on the way as he stepped in, only offering a smile and hitting the button Jarvis suggested.

  
The manufacturing levels were noisy, machines running in the background and robots of Tony’s creation milling about. One showed up and offered him two staves in a clawed hand, he took them and weighed them both. “Jarvis?”

  
“One is traditional, the other a bit of a whimsy on my part I’m afraid.”

  
Loki stood there and considered the fact that Tony Stark’s construct voice in the ceiling had a sense of whimsy, considering both weapons. They were the same length, and seemed to be perfectly balanced. One was carved wood, slightly wider in the center, sanded silken smooth and solid in his hand. The other was metal, finished in matte black with green flames licking at each end. Rubbing his thumb, he could feel a seam in the middle.

  
“The wooden Bo staff is a traditional Japanese rokushakubō, or as close as I can manufacture here, and is made of red oak.” Jarvis was saying. Loki leaned the metal one against the elevator controls and focused on the oak staff, flipping it through his hands then balancing it on his pinky finger.

  
“Perfectly balanced. I think you missed your calling, Jarvis.” Loki was smiling, sliding his hands over the wood, feeling the weight and perfection of the thing.

  
“Of course, it is no practice weapon. It’s the real thing. So keep that in mind when you wield it toward others. Same with the other, if you will…”

  
Loki agreeably set the wooden staff aside and picked up the metal one, putting it through the same paces and found it also balanced perfectly, pinky finger resting at the barely there seam and wondering then bouncing it in his palm. It resonated, he could feel what was probably a hollow core. Possibly Jarvis had repurposed some kind of pipe, but the ends were smoothly capped off like they’d always been that way.

  
“You’ve noticed the seam in the middle I see.”

  
“Seems like it’d be a weakness.” Loki replied.

  
“Put your hands on either side of it and twist in opposing directions, Mr. Laufeyson.”

  
He did and the staff popped apart into halves, and he laughed in surprise, tossing them up and down then testing those for balance and finding they, too, were balanced nigh perfectly.

  
“Now such a mechanic would probably not hold up long term in hard combat. We would have to consider an alternate means of separation.”

  
“I find myself enjoying your sense of whimsy. What a marvelous toy.” Grinning, he put the staff back together and picked up the other one, getting back on the elevator and heading back for the gym level.

* * *

 

Tony woke up with a start, shaking of and stretching across the bed, grumbling when his searching arms didn’t find anyone. Disappointing, but he’d slept in. So he gave up and pushed himself to a seated position, scrubbing his eyes with one hand. “Jarvis? What’s our headcount today?”

  
“Miss Potts has gone to work, Miss Romanov has gone running, Mr. Banner is still asleep, Mr. Odinson, Captain Rogers, Mr. Barton and Mr. Laufeyson are in the gym.”  
“Really.” He shifted to the edge of the bed, still a bit foggy.

  
“Mr. Barton and Mr. Laufeyson are playing tag while Mr. Odinson and Captain Rogers watch.”

  
“Okay, and now I need video footage.” He found a pair of drawstring pants and put them on, wandering out of the bedroom and to the kitchen and finding the muffins. Also there was a pill bottle, with a note that told Loki to take one, whole. Pepper must have stepped through to drop it off, he figured, going to the main TV screen as Jarvis brought up the appropriate security cam footage, the multiple camera angles splitting the screen.

  
“You’re a pain in the ass.” Clint was saying, hands on his hips and staring up at Loki, who was perched on his toes on the top edge of the sparring enclosure wall, a staff across his shoulders with his wrists resting on it.

  
“Oh, is this not fair?” Loki faked shock. Steve could be seen laughing his ass off in the background, Thor struggling to keep a straight face as well.

  
“If I brought my bow in here, I’d just pick your ass off.”

  
“But you didn’t.” And Loki stood, walking along the top edge of the wall with relative ease, nevermind it wasn’t even two inches thick.

  
“Well, I thought I came in here for tag, not keep away.” Clint replied dryly.

  
“Could we get on with it, brother?” Thor wanted to know.

  
Loki stood on his toes on the wall, tilting his head back and forth as if considering, then popped the staff apart into two sections, tossing one to Clint. “And now we’re even.” With that he leapt off the wall in a front flip and stuck the landing, and the game started anew.

  
And Tony knew he should be showering and getting ready to face the day but he couldn’t get himself off the couch, only eventually dragging himself away and taking a fast shower because he was starting to suspect the only way Loki’s obviously exhausted ass was leaving the gym is if someone bodily drug him.

* * *

 

Loki was sitting on a bench leaning on his knees, his second bottle of Gatorade between his hands, breathing hard. He wasn’t enjoying the drink, it tasted false and sharp, like a strange medicine, but this was what was available and he was thirsty. His body was burning. Before, on Asgard, this exercise would have been nothing, one quick sparring session likely between him and his brother, more to follow later. Now? His muscles sang, and aches were already reminding him it hadn’t been that long since he’d left a crater in the ground.

  
Curse these mortal coils.

  
“Are we having a party?” Tony’s voice asked, and he followed behind, dressed to work out.

  
“What are you doing up?” Steve replied. “Five hours sleep is not sufficient.”

  
“It’s not five. More like six. More than enough.” Tony peered at him. “Talked to Bruce?”

  
“Yeah, he said you guys got some work done last night.”

  
“We got some amazing work done last night.” He looked down at Loki, absolutely soaked in sweat and barefoot. “And you? Hit the showers. You’re done.”

  
“Is that a challenge?” Loki wanted to know.

  
“No, it’s an order to get your ass in the shower before you work yourself to collapse.” Tony pointed. Loki narrowed his eyes, Tony narrowed them back.

  
And the other three just kicked back and watched this silent standoff, until Clint finally said something. “The no sex in the locker room rule still stands.”

  
Tony looked at him and started laughing, shaking his head. “Yeah, no shit.”

  
Thor obviously went through a long list of things to say and just ended up staring at them, eyebrow up.

  
“Well, I didn’t bring a change of clothes, so.” Loki stood and collected his staves, propping them on one shoulder, wrist lazily laying across them to keep them there. “I am nowhere near collapse, Stark.” And he was gone, whistling.

  
“Liar.” Tony smirked after him, shaking his head.

  
“He’s an utter pain in the ass but there’s a lot of raw talent there.” Clint said. “I don’t think he knows the limits of his body at this point. He kept trying to pull things off and coming up just short and covering.”

  
“That’s just practice.” Steve replied.

  
“He has always been very good.” Thor said. “But he also always had his power to depend on.”

  
“Life is full of changes. He’ll adapt.” Tony shrugged, and walked over to the weight machines, whistling.

  
The other three looked after him, then Clint punched Steve’s shoulder lightly, nodding at the free weights. This left Thor standing there, rubbing his face and thinking before going over to where Tony was. “Man of Iron, I…”

  
“You’ve known me for over a year what is it going to take for you to call me Tony?” He replied.

  
“I, uh.” That brought Thor up short for a second. “Is it wrong that I call you by an honored title?”

  
“Whatever floats your boat I guess.” Tony shrugged, setting the weights and sitting down.

  
“I am very aware that I often get left out of the loop, as you people say.” Thor said bluntly. “But then I was not here. I did not see, apparently, what has been obvious to everyone else. So I want to know to know if your intentions toward my brother are honorable.”

  
Tony blinked, then started grinning. “Let’s review. You just asked if your brother, the trickster god, and me, the celebrated manwhore, have honorable intentions?”

  
“Well… yes?”

  
Tony sat on the weight bench and started laughing, holding his head in his hands. “And this is why we love you.” He said around the snorts and tears after several minutes. “I can say I don’t intend to fuck up your brother any worse than he already is fucked up.”

  
“I don’t think I like that answer.” Thor half glared.

  
“Hey, he jumped me, you expect me to say no?” Tony lifted an eyebrow and saw Thor’s expression. “Wow, you really didn’t know.”

  
“No, I didn’t.” Thor sat down on a machine next to him, for lack of chairs, staring at the ceiling. “I should have known he’d try something. He has been alone for many years.”

  
“Well, he’s not alone now.”

  
“And Pepper?”

  
“Oh, she is very okay with this. He sleeps with both of us and that is exactly where he should be as far as we are concerned.”

  
“You understand my concern.”

  
Tony shrugged. “Of course. You love him very much. I know that. I see that. He can’t. Hopefully soon he’ll open his eyes and actually see you again, instead of his projections.”

  
Thor smiled.

  
“Sir, there’s a rather extensive high speed chase on the highway right now. Multiple police vehicles in pursuit and multiple car accidents from people trying to get out of the way.” Jarvis remarked.

  
“Who, or what, are they chasing pray tell?” Tony replied.

  
“The what appears to be a Ferrari Enzo, sir.”

  
“Would be a shame if that car got bashed up.” He considered. “Bit below the pay grade but what the hell.” He stood, patting Thor’s shoulder in passing and heading for the elevator.

* * *

 

Loki was still standing in the shower, but distantly heard the noises above and the percussive sound of the Ironman suit’s jets engaging. “Jarvis?”

  
“Nothing dramatic, Mr. Laufeyson, Mr. Stark’s just going to go see about a high speed car chase.”

  
“Hmm.” He turned off the water and shook his hair out. “Is there a way to see what Tony sees?”

  
“If you like, I can ask permission to put the HUD and cameras on the television.”

  
“I would very much like to see that.”

* * *

 

“Sir, Mr. Laufeyson has asked permission to watch your HUD.”

  
“Well, what the hell, Jarvis, go ahead.” He grinned, flying between buildings and looking down at the multiple highway interchanges, watching the display Jarvis popped up but more than able to see it because of the news helicopters. “Because I just love crowded airspace.” He sighed, pulling up and hovering in midair, watching the chase come toward him.

  
“How do you think I feel?” Spiderman wanted to know, landing on the building he was hovering next to, staring out at the car chase.

  
“Hey, Spidey, how’s things?” He put out a brofist to the side and Spiderman leaned out and met it with his own agreeably. “And wow, besides the street lights there’s not much for you to grab onto on the highway is there.”

  
“And if the choppers catch my webs it’ll be a bad day for everyone.” Spidey agreed.

  
“Well, that Enzo’s coming our way. You want it or shall I?”

  
Someone pounded on the window Spiderman was hanging onto. They both looked to the side and wove at the people in suits standing there staring at them, then returned the conversation at hand.

  
“No reason why we couldn’t work together.” The younger man said after a moment.

  
“Sounds like fun, let’s do it.”

* * *

 

“I feel like a voyeur.” Loki said, sitting on the couch in a pair of the good jeans, still drying his hair, watching the camera feeds. One was on Tony, the other was looking at what Tony was looking at. He had to grin when Spiderman popped up. “Can I talk to him?”

  
“Go ahead, Mr. Laufeyson.”

  
“Hey, Tony, tell Spiderman I said hello.” He remarked in a slightly louder voice, tucking up his legs under him and leaning on the arm of the couch, grinning when he saw Stark react to his comment.

* * *

 

“Loki says hi.” Tony said, flying alongside Spiderman then grunting as he was used as a web platform. “Dude, that crap is not going to come out of my armor joints.”

  
“I look forward to the new cleaning compound you invent. Hi, Loki, welcome back.” Spidey replied. “So how do you want to do this?”

  
“How about I give them incentive to stop and you make sure they do.”

  
“Works for me. It’s all you man.”

  
And so they parted ways, Tony coming around and zipping past the chasing cop cars, flying just off the deck and quickly catching up to the Enzo, pacing it on the highway then reaching out and cheerfully tapping on the glass. The guy in the car, a younger guy, glanced to the side and gaped, then in a moment of very poor judgment jerked the wheel to the side to plow the car into Tony. So Tony hit the brakes and pulled up, watching cheerfully as the Enzo fishtailed back and forth and plowed right into a catchnet Spiderman had put up. “Bra-VO.” He golf clapped.

  
“Well, that wasn’t what I was imagining.” Spiderman landed on a nearby light post.

  
“I didn’t want to fuck up the car.” He flew over and disengaged the jets, landing on the lightpost and sitting down, Spiderman sitting next to him and watching the cops descend upon the Enzo, news helicopters above and news vans not far away. “You realize that us sitting here is going to be a huge news item, right?”

  
“Yeah, the franchises are crossing over, god forbid.” Spiderman snorted.

  
“Hey, before you run off. I want to help you.”

  
“With what?”

  
“I don’t know. Whatever. Your financial situation in particular.”

  
“I’m not looking for handouts, Stark.”

  
“I’m not offering one, Junior.”

  
Spiderman looked at him, hands resting on either side of him on the pole they sat on. Below them a few cops looked up at them, and were ignored. “Then what are you offering?”

  
“Call it a… grant, or a scholarship. Your choice in words. But it seems like you’re going to school and doing this, and maybe trying to make ends meet too right?”

  
“Heroes have to eat too.”

  
“My point is, I don’t want to compromise your identity. That’s your decision, I’ll respect that. But I don’t like the idea of you struggling. You do good work, kid.” He paused, considering. “I understand if you don’t want to get caught up with the Avengers because we have a hell of a lot of baggage, however, I have the capacity to offer a helping hand so you can continue to do good work.”

  
Spidey cocked his head to one side, and hmmed quietly.

  
“You don’t have to answer me now. Just wanted to throw it out there.”

  
“Hey up there!” Shouted a voice below, and both looked down at the same time to see a cop with his hands on his hips staring up at them. “People are starting to ask questions about you guys and we don’t have a lot of answers.”

  
“Well I have one as well, what was that about?” Tony replied.

  
“Kid was high as hell and stole the car away from a valet.” The cop looked disgusted.

  
“Right.” He looked at Spidey. “Time to go?”

  
“Beyond time I think.” Spidey shifted to couch on his toes. “Give me a boost?”

  
“You got it.” He hopped off the lamp post and grabbed one of Spiderman’s wrists, the younger man returning the grip as he flew straight up and away then cheerfully threw Spidey at the nearest skyscraper.

  
“WHAT THE FUCK STARK HAHAAHHH!” Spiderman whooped and got a line off, swinging cheerfully, Tony flying to pace him. “Catch you later.”

  
“Yeah man, I’m out.” He rolled in midair and flew away, smiling.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki stepped out on the balcony, hands in his jean pockets and waiting to see the Iron Man suit return, looking around for a long moment. This was not a place he had many fond memories of, but he’d learned to appreciate the so called rumpus room. He’d claimed a chair and sat, enjoying the wind, when the door reopened and Thor stepped out, looking at him.

  
“Afternoon, brother.” Thor said after a long moment, sitting in the chair next to him, looking out over the city.

  
Loki settled for a nod, glancing at him then staring back out over the city.

  
“You could have told me. That you and the Man of Iron were sharing a bed.”

  
“I’m not sure how it’s your business.” Loki replied.

  
“Because you are my brother and I want you to be happy. Because you weren’t always known for your lies and deceit. Because you once told me nearly everything.”

  
He looked at Thor for a long moment. “That was a long time ago.”

  
“That’s perspective.”

  
Loki blew out a sigh. “You want too much, too fast. I found out yesterday there was something wrong with me. I realize well that you are not the most patient of men but I ask you: give me time. As the people here would say I’ve gone through rather a lot these last few days.”

  
“I know. You cannot blame me.”

  
He gave Thor a narrow look. “I’ll blame you all I want.”

  
Tony touched down lightly on his landing pad and walked through the gear down, only glancing at them as he walked by. “Don’t let me interrupt.” And that fast, he was inside, the door closed behind him.

  
Loki watched him walk by, eyebrow up, then stared back out at the city. “He let me watch him fly, as he sees it.”

  
“The Man of Iron trusts you, easily the most of anyone here.”

  
“He forgives easily.” He thought back, to his first visit, crouched over Tony and watching a flash of fear break to lust, feeling hesitation break to passion. After a moment he stood, sighing. “I don’t want to have this talk, Thor. Not right now, at least.”

  
“Very well. I will endeavor to be patient.”

  
“Thank you.” He forced the words out of his mouth, walking past Thor and back inside.

  
“Mr. Laufeyson, Miss Potts wishes me to remind you there’s medication waiting for you, and that she wants you to know you’re sleeping on the couch if you don’t take it.” Jarvis sounded somehow amused.

  
“That’s curiously cruel.” He shot the ceiling a look. “But… effective. Fair enough.”

* * *

 

Tony was standing at his desk in his apartment, going through his screens and begrudgingly going through a week of stuff he was supposed to check daily even though he wasn’t CEO anymore, when Loki walked back in. “Hey. Sorry about that, I just didn’t want to interrupt if it was a private conversation.”

  
“No need to apologize.” Loki walked slowly across the apartment, picking up the pill bottle and leaning back against the island counter, staring at the bottle for a long time.

  
“It’s not going to blink.” Tony said, looking at him. “Actually, if it does, let me know, because that’s a whole other set of problems.”

  
“This world has curious ideas about medicine.” Loki replied after a long moment. “I am uncomfortable with changing who I am because of the will of a woman who says I am outside what she considers to be normal.”

  
“You’re not changing who you are. You’re stopping the pain you feel.” Tony could feel Loki looking at him. “I mean, that howling sobbing pain? Felt it right here.” He patted a hand over his own chest. “Don’t know how you live with that.”

  
“It’s… difficult to explain.” Loki opened the bottle and looked at the pills.

  
“Well, it can’t be fun. The idea here is to remove that. The medicine is just a tool. If it works, it works, if not we try something else.” He watched, eyebrow up, as Loki took one out and popped it, swallowing it dry then reclosing the bottle. “Swallowing that with a touch of pride to rinse it down?”

  
“Apt description.” He looked at the bottle. “Where should I put this?”

  
“Bathroom cabinet is the typical spot for medicine I suppose.” He put his eyes back on the screens, smiling when Loki stepped in behind him instead, draping his arms around Tony’s shoulders and looking around his head to see the screens. “You know? I hope you don’t run off somewhere because I’m getting used to having you around.”

  
“Oh, shut up Stark.” Loki muttered, hiding his face in Tony’s messy hair.

  
He shifted and laced his non-dominant arm over Loki’s arms to hold him there, going through messages and pausing when a new one popped up. “Wow. I totally fucking forgot about this in all the excitement. Want to go to Malibu with me this weekend?”  
“Yes. What is Malibu?”

  
Tony burst into laughter.

* * *

 

“So, who’s coming to Malibu with me?” Tony wanted to know, putting together drinks for everyone. Thor was looking at his frosted mug, looking at Tony, looking at the mug. Tony settled for staring at him until Thor decided that he wasn’t going to ask for a plastic cup to replace the chilled glass.

  
Every hand in the rumpus room went up, neatly accounting for all of the Avengers as well as Loki.

  
“Why are we going to Malibu?” Clint wanted to know.

  
“Well, I’M going because there’s a fundraiser I’ve been railroaded into attending.” Tony hauled over a tray and passed drinks out as necessary. “Your typical high society to do and I’m supposed to mingle and act like an adult and convince them some of the charities Stark as a company supports are worthy of their attention, so they can have some tax write-offs and feel good about themselves.”

  
“I’d love to have your problems.” Clint shook his head in wonder.

  
“Not if you talked to these people for five minutes.” Tony replied, passing Loki his brandy then taking his glass off the tray and setting it aside. “The last time I was at one and got access to a microphone, someone asked me what I was doing these days and I told them in great specific detail. Could have heard a pin drop.”

  
“I’m not sure you’re allowed to judge a room for not being as smart as you.” Bruce remarked.

  
“It’s not the lack of smarts it’s the lack of give a shit, and when the king of not giving a shit is calling you on your not giving a shit, you’re beyond the pale.” He shrugged. “But it’s only part of a day, we can spend the rest of the weekend on the beach or something.”

  
“Will someone just tell me what Malibu is so I can follow this conversation?” Loki remarked. “Because it’s still yet to be explained to me.”

  
“Okay, Jarvis, do me a favor and bring up Malibu.” Tony claimed a seat and watched the television come up and start bringing up pictures. “It’s actually where I used to live. I still have the house, I’ve just been here since the company was moved.”

  
“From what I remember about your house, it does not have sufficient guest rooms to house all of us.” Natasha remarked. “You also blew the everloving hell out of it fighting with Rhodes and building a particle accelerator.”

  
“Yeah, it’s amazing what contractors will fix.” Tony sipped his drink. “And yes, I’m aware of the guest room issue. Which is why we’ll stay in a hotel instead. I’ll check on the house while I’m there.”

  
“What’s left there anyway?”

  
“Not a lot, I moved Jarvis as soon as I could. I still own the place, but it’s standing mostly empty.” He shrugged.

  
“Man of Iron, may I bring Jane?”

  
Tony blinked at Thor. “Well, yeah, call her so I can get a flight set up so she can meet us. Why aren’t you there anyway?”

  
“I was planning on visiting her soon but I…” He just looked at Loki.

  
Loki settled on an eyeroll.

  
“So, what, you’re just all flying us for a weekend vacation no strings attached?” Bruce said.

  
“Do I ever attach strings?” Tony wanted to know and ducked as some threw ice cubes at him. “Alright, alright, look. If anyone wants to get dressed up and come with me to this fundraiser, I would be grateful. I’m not actually going to ask, because I don’t actually want to suffer any of you to them, but I would appreciate any actually friendly company I can get.”

  
“No pressure?” Natasha looked thoughtful.

  
“Absolutely none.” He agreed, putting his hands up.

  
“Private plane?” Clint asked, and got a look from Tony. “Right.”

  
“I’ll get the itinerary set up and put it up here once I know for sure.” He paused. “Hell, pack for a week. Might as well. I say we deserve a vacation.”

  
“You spoil us rotten.” Steve smiled.

  
“You’re my friends. Of course I spoil you.”

* * *

 

“I’ve gotten really used to finding you sprawled in my bed.”

  
Loki didn’t even dignify that with a response beyond a raised middle finger, getting a roar of laughter out of Tony.

  
“No, that wasn’t a complaint.” He stood there for a moment and considered Loki, who was sprawled on his stomach, mottled with bruises and looking absolutely destroyed, then crawled on the bed and straddled over him, putting his hands on the back of Loki’s neck and digging in gently, pushing the heels of his hands in.

  
Loki groaned, somewhere between pleasure and pain. “Never, ever, stop doing that.”

  
“That’s a familiar response.” Tony smirked. “Overworked yourself a bit?”

  
“I do not understand this body.” His voice was muffled by the sheets.

  
“You’ll get used to it. Just take it easy a bit and let yourself heal before you start working out really hard.” He worked the muscles along the top edges of Loki’s shoulders, brushing his hair out of the way and smiling at the low incoherent noise he got in return for his efforts.

  
“The ache is reassuring.” Loki’s eyes were closed.

  
“Well, your muscles need to recover or you’ll start damaging yourself. For what it’s worth that was really impressive today.”

  
“I was unrefined.”

  
“That’s just a matter of practice.”

  
“So I saw the itinerary changed…” Pepper walked in, pausing and lifting an eyebrow, staring at this for a moment, Loki relaxed and limp under Tony’s hands. “I’m sorry what was I saying?”

  
“Itinerary.” Tony supplied helpfully, working over Loki’s shoulder blades.

  
“Ah. Right.” She looked at her phone, then looked at them. “That’s… really distracting…”

  
“Really, what about when he does this?” Tony shifted his hands and put pressure on just so.

  
Loki’s back popped in succession to a gargled cry of confusion and pleasure. “Ffffffucking hell Tony.”

  
He was watching Pepper, who had turned a series of colors and put one hand to her mouth, eyes wide.

  
“You’re, just…” She let out a breath and refocused. “So, everyone’s going to Malibu?”

  
“Seems that way, I’m thinking a week would be nice, we could all use a break.”

  
“Sweet, but some of us work for a living.” She was smiling though.

  
“Well, we’ll at least have the weekend right?” He smiled back. “Are you willing to set up a hotel? Oh, and Thor wants to bring Jane out too.”

  
“That’s easy enough to do, I’ll take care of it. Oh, and I sent Jason all that information you wanted to pass on.” She lifted an eyebrow.

  
He nodded. “Right.” The coat, right. He looked forward to seeing if Jason and his clever buddies could pull it off. Hopefully they could. “So, you off for the night?”

  
“No, I really have to go finish some stuff up…”

  
“Really? You sure?” He put his hands to use just so, remembering where there’d once been a badly healing wound and getting another groan from Loki.

  
“That’s not fair.” Pepper pouted.

  
“Stark, quit using me as a noisemaker.” Loki muttered.

  
“That is the feeblest complaint I have ever heard.” Tony laughed but continued the massage a bit more honestly.

  
“I’ll be done soon.” She leaned across the bed and kissed one of Tony’s cheeks, then leaned down and gave Loki the same treatment. “Someone has to work around here.” That said she was gone.

  
“Are you proud?” Loki half opened an eye, looking at Tony.

  
“Yes, yes I am.” He cheerfully scuffed his fingernails down Loki’s spine.

  
The taller man hissed, fingers digging into the bed. “I asked for that, didn’t I…”

  
“I keep telling you that your mouth is going to write checks your body can’t cash.” Tony tched, shifting to sit next to Loki on the bed. “Fine, I’ll go easy on you tonight.”

  
“Don’t you ever.” Loki lifted his head and glared at Tony.

  
“Oh, no, too late.” And he hopped off the bed, enjoying himself far too much.

  
“Stark, I swear…!”

* * *

 

The days passed, most of which Tony spent in the lab with Bruce, trying to get a bunch of designs finalized before they left. Loki tried to keep to the tower and found that impossible. The group seemed to be trading him around. Pepper took him shopping again. Steve showed him around New York on motorcycle and taught him to ride, and talked a lot about how much things had changed. Loki listened, because he was realizing the Avengers were trying to find ways to reach out to him. And the motorcycle was a machine he found himself quickly falling in love with. It wasn’t a horse, he missed horses and said as much to Steve, but the nimble two-wheeled machines endeared themselves to him.

  
He saw Clint and Natasha in the gym mostly. They were the most likely to watch him walk by and not say a lot, and he accepted that. Thor? Thor was obviously trying to be patient but always fighting to push, talk, ask questions. He ended up asking Thor to keep him company while he started working through the aptitude tests Jarvis was setting up for him. After all, being able to sit quietly side by side and be comfortable was still progress.

  
And, it worked. Thor actually sat there though several of the tests, watching him work and reading over what he was, and Loki slowly relaxed, getting used to the sound of his still-godly brother breathing next to him, silent and attentive. Quiet moments were rare for Thor and that he was willing to even attempt this showed some effort on his part.

  
The tests themselves ranged between simple and frustrating. He had to ask Jarvis for a lot of explanations. He ended up getting what Jarvis rather drolly called ‘crash courses’ in modern subjects. Yeah, he understood it, it was easy. The math flew by easily, scaling upwards with each test, and he stubbornly stuck to pencil and paper, ignoring the calculators he was offered. Chemistry was more interesting. He saw some hard sciences as well. Jarvis flat told him that he wasn’t being given tests in English or History, as Loki just didn’t have the Midgardian education to back that up. Fair enough.

  
And Thor sat through it all, bringing him the occasional mug of coffee and offering the occasional kind word when Loki got frustrated. He was actually so stunned he gave up and spontaneously threw his arms around Thor for a moment after he finished the second day of testing. Thor stood frozen, shocked, then returned it, picking him up and grinning.

  
“My smart brother.” Thor said simply, setting him down. “You’ll do fine. I am certain the Man of Iron will be satisfied with how hard you are working.”

  
Loki couldn’t even put together a reply, watching his scores come back and not sure how to feel. What was Tony actually looking for? How hard was this material in comparison to what Tony and Bruce were doing in the labs? And yet those questions were so easy to forget in bed, snuggled down with Tony and Pepper, listening to them talk and getting pulled into the conversations. One day he’d come to bed late, and found them lying facing each other talking, so he’d crawled in on the far side of the bed to leave them alone. Tony had rolled and pulled him in with them, and he’d gone willingly.

  
They were getting ready to go to the airport and go to Malibu when Pepper suddenly came in with some kind of white envelope, opening it and grinning at Loki. “This is for you I suspect.”

  
“What is it?” He’d wanted to know, and she’d dumped two small plastic cards into his hands, and he’d been left staring at them, confused.

  
“State identification and a SHIELD ID as well.” Tony lifted an eyebrow, looking at them. “I guess you’re official. We’ll see about getting you a driver’s license soon.”

  
“Steve taught me how to ride motorcycles.” Loki said, turning the SHIELD ID card in his hands in wonder, then actually reading it and snorting when he saw a species line. Asgardian, Fallen. That had to be Fury.

  
“Well, maybe we’ll work on cars while in California. Better roads.” Tony said, rummaging and coming up with a wallet, tossing it to him. Pepper showed Loki how to put the IDs in, tucking the SHIELD ID behind the State one. “We’ll get you a Stark expense card soon.”

  
He shoved the wallet in one of the back pockets of his jeans, a gesture he’d learned from watching Tony. “This feels important.”

  
“It is. It means they’ve set up an identity for you on a Federal level. You officially exist.” Tony smiled at him. “Don’t think about it too much.”

  
Then they were leaving the apartment carrying or towing luggage along, meeting everyone in the garage. Except Thor, Thor had left to visit Jane late the night before, a different plane was going to pick them up there. And it was there he realized that everyone was wearing one of the I Support the Avengers Initiative shirts, including him. Pepper was wearing the unified one.

  
“Are we making a statement?” He asked, looking around.

  
“Would you believe this actually makes airport security easier?” Tony replied.

  
Loki had no idea what he was talking about, but soon found out. Oh, he’d been in flying vehicles before, but the airport was a stunning crash of people and security guards and devices, and everyone had weapons and otherwise had things that normally were not allowed on airplanes if all the signs were believed, and Tony just got out a SHIELD ID and held it up. Then a man in a suit came out, and Tony said just one thing.

  
“Just let us go to my plane and we will be out of your hair.”

  
And it magically worked, all of them walked past the long security lines. Loki watched the people they were passing in the lines and heard them talking, and heard the ripple of understanding pass through the crowd when someone pointed out the shirts.

  
Just a bunch of superheroes walking by, no big deal.

  
The plane waiting for them was small and sleek, dwarfed by the other planes on either side of it, and stood out because it had STARK written on it. The flight crew was waiting for them, and Tony and Pepper knew all of them, then their luggage was stowed and the plane was closed up around them, Loki sitting in one of the window seats and watching the ground disappear under them, the small plane easily negotiating the other planes in the air.

  
“That was… so strange.” Loki finally said, looking at everyone else. “They all thought that I’m one of you.”

  
“Well, visually you’re fitting in.” Bruce replied. “But I never get used to that either.”

  
“We’re armed, we know it, it’s a private plane.” Tony shrugged. “I have a suit packed up below, Clint has his bow, I know Loki has the breakdown staff tucked into his bag, Steve has his shield and uniform. We could spend all day trying to explain that we’re legit, OR I break out the SHIELD ID and we blow right past it all. The shirts are only because they’re very effective at keeping the public from being upset that we’re being allowed by.”

  
“That was actually a first for me.” Pepper said. “And I’ll bow to the convenience.”

  
They all fell into conversation, and Loki stayed where he was, staring out the window and watching the clouds pass by, then closing his eyes and pressing his palms together, slipping into meditation.

  
It was Bruce that sat down across from him and reached over to pat one of his legs, smiling when Loki opened his eyes. “Hey. You alright?”

  
“The medicine is working.” Loki replied, lacing his hands together in his lap.

  
“Really?” Bruce tilted his head.

  
“I could feel… I don’t know. The airport was… fundamentally uncomfortable. But I could actually see the discomfort and anger and it was… like it wasn’t part of me?” He shook his head and looked away. “Nevermind. It was a strange, passing feeling.”  
“Well, as long as you’re doing fine now.”

  
“I never got used to these machines, but I’m fair enough. Just curious to see what lies ahead.”

  
“Don’t worry about it. Malibu is beautiful. The weather’s a lot better than New York right now that is for certain.”

  
He thought about the cool rains they’d left behind. It was fundamentally uncomfortable for him now, but it did somehow remind him of Asgard and he’d been told snow would come soon enough. And what frustration that was, to know that his brother would probably be standing out in the balcony wrapped only in his cape or a fur, and he’d have to be in multiple layers because mortal bodies got cold fast. “I suppose I could settle for some warmer weather.”

  
Bruce smiled and patted his leg again, standing up and walking across the plane. And as fast as he had left, Tony was sitting next to him, pushing the arm rests out of the way and flopping across his lap with a sigh. No one else seemed to notice, so he draped an arm around Tony and continued watching out the window, catching a glimpse of his own smile in the reflection of the glass.

* * *

 

It was sunny and warm and beautiful when the plane touched down, and Loki had the weird feeling that it was earlier in the day by several hours. Time zones, he was told, as they walked down the stairs and stood on the cement. He made himself not watch the other planes as their small one was unloaded by quick-handed airport crew, then in the background another small STARK plane touched down, and Thor was walking over, grinning and leading Jane by the hand.

  
“Hey, glad to see it worked out.” Tony said.

  
“It worked out perfectly, Man of Iron.” Thor’s loud cheerful voice carried perfectly over the screech and roar of the jets above them.

  
“I was about to ask how we’re getting out of here but I think that was answered.” Clint said, looking off to one side as a long black car pulled up and stopped a short distance away. “Tony, how many airport rules are we breaking?”

  
“Why can’t you just be happy about the limo?” Tony wanted to know. A van had pulled up behind the limo, also emblazoned STARK, and their luggage got loaded into that as they climbed into the limo. They just fit, actually, Tony claiming the back bench seat like he belonged there and lacing his fingers behind his head as they shut the doors and the vehicle started rolling.

  
“Okay, I get it. Back to Malibu and the playboy gig comes back out.” Natasha said, smirking.

  
“I can’t just want to pamper everyone?” Tony asked. Pepper and Loki were on the bench with him, which was how it was supposed to be as far as he was concerned. “Lord, live a little.”

  
She only smiled and shook her head.

  
“This is going to be a bit far and away from life at the Tower isn’t it?” Loki said, looking around the richly appointed vehicle.

  
“In the tower I get to be an engineer.” Tony replied.

  
“So how is this working?” Jane wanted to know. “Thor hasn’t told me much.”

  
“I have a charity event I have to attend tomorrow, really more a social event with purpose. Pepper and I will be going, anyone else can tag along but it’s totally optional.” Tony replied. “Beyond that, there’s hotel reservations for a week and attached expense accounts. This is a vacation. Enjoy.”

  
“Oh, be careful what you’re flashing out there, Tony.” Natasha was now grinning.

  
“What part of I will take care of you all did you not understand?” He rolled his eyes, then saw Loki looking out the tinted window and reached across him, putting the window down.

  
“You know, we take our own paychecks.” Clint said.  
“I’m sorry, what’s your point?”

  
Pepper smiled and shook her head. “The Avengers is now an official expense for Stark Industries. Remarkably easy to set up really, as it turns out you can use Captain America to guilt members of the board.”

  
“Hey.” Steve said, sounding indignant.

  
“Sorry. But it worked.”

  
Loki tuned it all out a bit, staring out at some truly beautiful countryside (well, once they got away from the airport, anyway), brought back when one of Tony’s hands settled on his back almost casually. “Rather a large change when you switch coastlines.” He remarked after a moment.

  
“Yeah, I lived out here for a long time.” Tony replied. “The New York thing is recent for the company, as far as I’m concerned. Yeah we had a branch but we moved headquarters.”

  
This was when Thor discovered the sunroofs, and the rest of the ride was full of laughter, the limo eventually pulling up in front of a large sprawling hotel, the van tucking in behind them and the people on the sidewalk stopping to watch them pile out.

  
“Malibu Beach Inn?” Bruce said, walking over and getting his bags from the van. “You guys are shelling out, I’ve heard of this place before.”

  
“Let’s just say that it was not fun to get six rooms on short notice.” Pepper replied.

  
Jane looked around, obviously doing a headcount then doing some math, then giving Pepper a baffled look. But everyone else was grabbing luggage and hotel employees were bringing out carts, the group walking into the hotel with Pepper leading the way.  
“Reservation for the Avengers.” She said simply, leaning on the receptionist’s counter.

  
The man in the suit there looked at her, then leaned slightly to look at the group behind her, most of which were wandering through the lobby taking it in. “So you’re the one who called. While we were able to open up the rooms, I do admit we were… skeptical.” He quirked an eyebrow and tapped at his computer, coming up after with a handful of room keys. “Welcome to Malibu, Miss Potts and company.”

  
She giggled, fanning the key cards out in her hand and gathering the group up, passing them out. “When I made the reservations I set up expense accounts attached to the rooms so feel free to hit the spa and restaurant. Anything else, we’ll have to coordinate. Tony and I are both familiar with the area.” She paused. “Oh, and the hotel is booked solid as far as I know, so…”

  
“Keep a low profile?” Steve finished.

  
“Exactly.”

  
Loki looked at the card in his hand, flipping it through his fingers, then looked at Tony in confusion. “How is this a key?”

  
“We’ll show you.” He replied.

  
“Wait, Loki’s staying with you two?” Clint said, looking between Pepper and Tony.

  
“Yes, he is. He was at the tower as well.” Tony gave Clint a look. Clint settled for an eyebrow lift.

  
“Old news.” Pepper said, looking at the patient employees with the carts of luggage. “Let’s at least get our luggage to our rooms then we can decide if we want to do something with the rest of the day.”

  
“I could eat.” Bruce said as they walked.

  
“You can always eat.” Tony replied, grinning.

  
“There is nothing wrong with a healthy appetite, Man of Iron.” Thor replied.

  
It took two elevators to get everyone and the luggage to the appropriate floor. The hotel had given them six rooms in a row, all facing the ocean. During the elevator ride, Tony glanced at Loki and saw him huddling away from everyone again. Tony replayed the day in his head, and frowned, realizing Loki had been doing this on and off all day.

  
That didn’t mean he wasn’t surprised when Loki stepped into the hotel room and folded, dropping to his knees and leaning forward, hugging himself and shaking.


	7. Chapter 7

“Shit!” Tony dropped his bags aside and knelt beside Loki, putting a hand on his back and getting no response. “Pepper? Need you.” And she was there as he got one of Loki’s arms over his shoulders, standing and pulling Loki vertical, wrapping an arm around Loki’s ribs. “Come on, man, please don’t do this, walk…” Tony took a step forward, relieved when the other man also did, even though he was nearly dead weight, eyes totally washed out.

  
Getting him to the couch in the richly appointed hotel room took work, but Tony got Loki sat down, sitting with him and pulling him in, holding him up, looking at Pepper helplessly over Loki’s shoulders.

  
“What happened?” She wanted to know.

  
“I don’t know. He just went down.” Tony held him tight, feeling a shudder wracking through Loki’s body. The taller man had sagged into his arms, head propped on one of Tony’s shoulders, eyes barely open. Tony rubbed a hand over his back and only got a slow exhale in response. “Loki? Talk to us. Please. We don’t know what’s wrong.” Pepper shifted and laced her arms with Tony’s, trapping Loki between them, just breathing for a moment.

  
Loki swallowed, taking stock and getting some grounding again between them. “I’m… I will be fine. I am … just very tired.” His voice came out shaking, weak, and he hated it, but it was an effort as it was.

  
Tony gave Pepper a look around Loki, brow furrowing. She looked back, worried, and shifted an arm so she could tap one of her temples. He nodded in agreement, but what could they do about it? “Well, it’s been one hell of a busy day.” Tony finally said. “Do you want to go to bed?”

  
“No, just… stay with me. Please.”

  
“Of course. I’m not going anywhere.” Tony sighed, pulling Loki to his chest and shifting them so he could lean back in the corner of the couch. Loki shifted to curl up against him slowly, shuddering when Pepper pressed a kiss under one his ears then got up to deal with the rest of the luggage.

  
“I’ll be right back, Tony left his gear in the hallway.”

  
“Yeah, let’s not let that get stolen.” Tony said. Just one of the brief case suits, his laptop with a Jarvis extension and a rollout mat for the holograph wireframes, no big deal right?

  
Pepper nodded and stepped back out to the hallway, smiling and pulling the door shut when she saw Steve sitting with the gear. “You’re an angel.”

  
“Something happened, didn’t it?” He replied.

  
She sighed and sat next to him on the luggage. “Yes. Loki blew a capacitor. He’s totally checked out. Not dangerous just… I don’t even know. Tony’s with him.”

  
Steve sighed. “There are some days where I’m really for this. And there are some days where he seems more like a jigsaw missing vital parts than a person. And you? You already had your hands full with Tony and you let Loki in. Have to admit you never cease to amaze me.”

  
“Phil Coulson was a good friend so yeah, at first I was just thrilled.” She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “But Tony’s got a big heart, under the asshole exterior, and Tony gets what he wants. And yes, Loki has his moments. Good and bad. Not that I’d change it, at this point.”

  
“I’m not even going to begin to guess how it works. Bit beyond my time.” Steve smiled a bit.

  
“Some things work better when you don’t overanalyze them. Honestly? I’m just hoping he recovers enough so that he’ll keep an eye on Tony when I’m out on business trips. I’m sure you’re more than tired of babysitting duty.”

  
“Nah. It’s fun. That’s why I moved in in the first place. Yeah I don’t get half of what he says when Tony verbally dances off into scienceland but hey, I don’t have to get it. It’s fun to watch. And I like that he and Bruce don’t shut me out during that you know?”

  
She smiled and wrapped an arm around him, hand coming up to mess up his hair. “You’re a good man, Steve Rogers.”

  
“Comes natural. You need some help carrying this?”

  
Pepper stood up. “Pass it in to me? And… could you tell the others we’ll just meet up in the club for dinner? Hopefully Loki will have pulled out of this by then.”

  
“Sure.”

  
She carded the door open and stepped in, propping it in with her foot and taking the bags as Steve passed them, setting them aside and thanking him. He pulled the door closed, and she looked over at Tony and Loki, smiling in spite of herself. The couch wasn’t long enough for them to fully stretch out, but Tony had swung up his legs to stretch across the cushions, Loki mostly laying on top of him. But what brought the smile was that Tony was singing, something normally limited to the shower and while flying in the suit (with the mic off), and very occasionally the labs when he was several cups of coffee in.

  
“Sloe gin, sloe gin, tryin’ to wash away the pain inside.” Tony’s voice was quiet, fingers of one hand playing between Loki’s shoulder blades. “Well I’m sick and I’m all done in, and I’m standing in the rain, and I feel like I’m gunna cry…”

  
There wasn’t really room for Pepper on the couch (an ongoing issue, really, Tony had been talking about custom ordering furniture for the apartment), but she managed to perch on the edge and wrap an arm over them both, setting her head on Loki’s back and feeling him sigh in response. “I’m so damn lonely, and I ain’t even high… I’m so damn lonely and I feel like I’m gunna die.”

  
Tony grinned at her, and joined her, nodding a bit in the same beat. “Mayday, mayday, I’ve been shot down over stormy seas. Well I feel that I’m drifting away, cannot seem to grip on me. Well, I can’t even try…”

  
Loki shifted slightly, just enough to get an arm around them both, cheek on Tony’s chest next to the arc reactor, sighing again, voice barely a murmur. “Thank you.”

  
Tony just smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Loki’s head, then nuzzled in there. “Just work on feeling better. We’re here and we are not going anywhere.” Loki nodded, and Tony’s voice dropped to a hum, smiling when he felt the tension relax out of Loki’s body.

* * *

 

By the time dinner rolled around, Loki was up and around again, standing on the balcony outside and staring out at the water, smiling. He’d come out of his crash, but he hadn’t said anything about it. Tony and Pepper kept an eye on him but busied themselves dealing with the luggage.

  
“Did you have to bring half the lab with you?” Pepper wanted to know.

  
“This is hardly half the lab, this is just enough to work with if I have inspiration.” Tony managed to sound affronted. The coffee table now had the roll out mat and his laptop on it. The brief case suit was in one of the dresser drawers, because what else made sense, really?

  
“You’re the one who wanted a vacation.” She reminded him. The clothing related luggage was gathered by the bed, they’d figure out who was putting what later.

  
“Everyone needs one.” He replied. He had the laptop open, typing away. “Evening Jarvis.”

  
“Good evening, sir.” His AI replied from the laptop.

  
“How’s everything at the tower?”

  
“Secure, sir. Quiet, without you here.” The AI sounded amused.

  
“Now that’s a voice I wasn’t expecting to hear.” Loki said, stepping in from the balcony, grinning. Tony lifted an eyebrow at him.

  
“Good evening, Mr. Laufeyson. I have a received a message from Dr. Snitz, should I arrange a flight to Malibu for her?” Jarvis replied.

  
“That witch of the mind? What does she want?” Loki replied, sitting down next to Tony and looking at the laptop screen, which currently just had the STARK logo and the words “Jarvis Online” under it.

  
“Ooohhh shiiit.” Tony put his face in his hands. “Your therapy session. She is going to be so pissed off at me. Yeah, Jarvis, schedule her flight for Malibu.”

  
“Seriously, Tony?” Pepper wanted to know, leaning her shoulder on the dividing wall of the hotel room and folding her arms. “You’re getting old.”

  
“I am not, I’ve just had really good distractions lately.” He looked between Loki and Pepper and lifted an eyebrow.

  
“You’re terrible.” But she smiled anyway.

  
“I’m going to have to talk to her again?” Loki was baffled.

  
“Wow, I guess we never fully explained it sorry. She’s become your therapist. You’re going to have to talk to her weekly so she can gauge your progress.”

  
He blinked, then sighed and shook his head. “More of Fury’s terms of agreement, I suppose. I cannot say that I am thrilled.”

  
“I’m not sure I blame you.” Tony replied. “Are you feeling better?”

  
“Yes, much.” Loki managed a real smile.

  
“Can you tell us what happened? Because you scared the shit out of me. You were borderline nonresponsive.”

  
“It’s… very hard to explain. The best I can say is, I felt overwhelmed.” He paused. “I am not sure how to say this well.”

  
“Then say it badly so we have something to edit.”

  
Loki sighed and slouched, hair draping partly over his face and propping his jaw on one of his hands, looking at them from under his brows. It was one of those dangerous, vaguely feral looks he could do, and at one point it would have put the hair on the back of Tony’s neck up. Not anymore. “This world is strange to me. I came to your tower because I knew I had a chance of safety there over anywhere else. No magic, a fragile body, then to find out my mind is… wrong… did not help.” He shook his head slightly. “But the tower felt safe. You felt safe. Both of you. So when you said we’re going somewhere I agreed immediately. You are my … life line in this world.” He forced the words out. “And realize how hard that is to say. I just thought staying with you both was the better option. Then the … airport, and all of the people staring at us. And after that everything started collapsing away at the edges. Like I was fighting for ground. I tried to… pull away, you pulled me back. I held together long enough to get here then it was too much.”

  
Tony stared at Loki for a long moment. “Shit. You could have just told me that it was better to stay at the tower. I would have cancelled going to this thing, I barely go to them anyway.”

  
“No. I can’t hide. I can’t stay… sick.” Loki forced the words out again. “I need to face this world and I need to be able to fight. But, for now… I would be grateful if you would just stay close to me. At least one of you. You brought me back from someplace dark, earlier.”

  
“I know how that is.” Tony sighed. “I told you. We’re not going anywhere. You can stick with us the whole time we’re here. Let the others wonder. I’m just really fucking flattered you trust us like this.”

  
Loki looked at him and smiled, slowly, that clever and vaguely evil smile that had endeared him to Tony on the first visit. “You trusted me when no one else would, when anyone else would have rightly called you crazy for taking me in, and you not only took me in, you took me into your arms and held tight and dared to care. What can I do but trust you in return?” He considered, tilting his head back and forth. “Of course, realize if you hurt me, I’ll destroy you both.”

  
Tony blanched, then burst into laughter. “Is it sad that I missed this side of you?”

  
“He’s right, you’re in a mood.” Pepper said.

  
“Good, I actually feel… rather free right now. It is good to know such a mood is not bothersome.” Loki smiled again, then glanced up when there was a knock at the door.

  
Pepper stepped over and unlocked it, smiling at Steve. “Hey.”

  
“We’re all talking about dinner, you three coming?” Steve smiled back, looking over one of her shoulders. “Hi, Loki, Tony.”

  
“Hey Steve.”

  
“Evening Captain Rogers.” Jarvis said.

  
Steve laughed. “Hi, Jarvis. I imagine you aren’t coming to dinner.”

  
“No, that is unnecessary. I will be quite content to remain here.”

  
Tony grinned. “Go ahead and sign out of the laptop, Jarvis, I just wanted to check in.” He stood and held a hand down to Loki, who took it and stood up, flipping his hair out of his eyes.

  
“Very good sir.” The laptop screen went dim, and Tony reached down and shut it before walking over with Loki and Pepper to join Steve, cheerfully closing up the room behind them and heading down the hall.

* * *

 

Apparently, they were supposed to make dinner reservations.

  
That said, the hotel management had a very hard time looking them gathered together and rather obvious about who they were, and telling them they couldn’t eat. They found room.

  
They took two tables pushed together, arranging themselves. Tony put himself between Loki and Pepper, which was starting to become a standard seating arrangement. Thor and Jane cheerfully sat across from them, Steve put himself on Pepper’s other side after he’d pulled out her chair for her. Pepper tried to quietly put across to them that it was a fairly high end restaurant, but there was only so much you could tone them down. Yeah, Clint and Natasha were rarely loud, contenting themselves to sit and watch the others, but Thor sometimes had issues with the concept of volume control.

  
That said, none of the tables around them seemed all that upset, in fact many of the diners seemed openly amused, taking it as dinner and a show. There were some kids in the restaurant, there with parents, and over the course of the meal they all managed to come over and find their favorite Avenger. And after that, some of the adults started walking over. It was mostly passing greetings and questions, letting them get on with their meals around it. They didn’t mind too much, considering, though they had some fun at the expense of the skeptics that came by.

  
Perhaps the bizarre highlight of the interactions with the public was after they’d left the table and were getting some drinks at the bar before heading outside, a very serious young girl approached Tony and waited politely to be noticed.

  
“Yes?” He finally asked, looking down at her. Eight if she’s a day, he thought.

  
“Can I see your light Mr. Ironman?”

  
He looked at the others, who lifted eyebrows at him, so he shrugged and got down on one knee, tugging down the collar of his shirt to show the reactor, distorting the fabric a bit. The girl hmmed seriously, putting her hands on either side of it, barely touching.

  
“Does it hurt?”

  
“Not anymore.” He managed a smile.

  
She nodded seriously, hugged him around the back of his neck, and left.

  
“What is it with you and children, Stark?” Loki wanted to know, cradling his brandy.

  
“Oh, well.” He stood, leading them to the walkway outside, looking out over the ocean. “I’ve just had the most publicity, so they know me. I was in the news long before the Avengers became a thing.”

  
“He wasn’t supposed to admit to being Ironman.” Natasha remarked, holding her own glass.

  
“Ancient history now.” He wove his beer bottle dismissively. “I’m never going to be a great role model. Doesn’t stop kids from liking me apparently. Steve’s the role model here.”

  
“Thanks?” Steve said, lifting an eyebrow. “A role model for what, exactly?”

  
“I don’t know, being a nice guy?” Tony gave him a look. “Would you just take a compliment? Why does everyone always think I’m implying something?”

  
“Because you usually are.” Loki studied his fingernails.

  
“Oh, sunnuvabitch not you too.” He groaned, and the rest of the group broke into laughter, slowly making their way down the boardwalk.

* * *

 

“Okay, since I’ve succeeded in ignoring all details about this event until today…” Tony said, accepting his suit jacket from Pepper and putting it on, managing not to roll his eyes as she micromanaged his appearance. “Old habits, Pep?”

  
She gave him a look. “It’s just a simple late afternoon soiree at a local country club. A lot of shareholders will be there, some members of the board. I don’t think any of them actually expect you to show up.”

  
“Well, I do have an established pattern of behavior.” He shrugged.

  
“We have a few new charities but this is also a chance for you to make nice about the Avengers, because quite a few people are seeing it as a financial loss, I believe the word “money pit” has been used.” She saw his expression. “Yes, I’m well aware you used personal finances to set everyone up in New York, they just don’t care.”

  
“Today’s going to be fun.” He was sour. “I’m not going to apologize for having superhero friends.”

  
“If I may, sir, I feel the need to point out these are arguably your first friends, short Rhodes.” Jarvis said from the laptop.

  
Loki stepped out of the bedroom, buttoning his suit vest and tie draped across the back of his neck, and lifted an eyebrow at this. “That was somewhat cutting, Jarvis.”

  
“And yet, entirely correct.” Tony huffed. “Which is the other reason I’m not making any apologies.”

  
“You don’t have to make any apologies.” Pepper said, stepping over to Loki and dealing with his tie. He watched with one eyebrow up, she tied the knot slow so he could get the idea. “In fact, if anyone demands one you have my permission to laugh in their face. Just smile and make good publicity and say it’s worked out so far.”

  
“So, does Fury know you run the Avengers?” Loki wanted to know as she stepped back.

  
She giggled and looked between them. “Ready as we’ll ever be I suppose. Thank you for coming along, Loki.”

  
“It is an excuse to wear this if nothing else.” He smiled, and they stepped out of the hotel room, heading for the lobby.

  
“Who’s driving us?” Tony wanted to know as they rode the elevator down.

  
“Happy is.” Pepper replied. “He’s glad to be back in Malibu.”

  
“Yeah, I bet he is.” He remembered watching his chauffer fume in New York traffic, stepping out of the elevator. “Anyone else going with us, or are we…”

  
And as he said that, the rest of the Avengers cheerfully stood from various chairs in the lobby and looked at him. Everybody was in a suit, short Natasha, who was in a semi-formal dress, something probably perfect for the country club but not evening wear, if Tony was any judge of women’s fashion. Mostly he was a good judge of taking it off, but, you still learned a thing or two.

  
“Okay, I’ll ask, when did Thor get a suit?” He finally said, walking forward and taking it all in.

  
“I’m not going to claim it was easy.” Jane said, dressed casual. Thor had the dignity to look affronted by this.

  
“Oh, I’m sure it wasn’t. Not coming with us?”

  
She smiled and shook her head. “No, I’m going to hit the beach and the spa. This isn’t my thing, but thanks for the invite.”

  
“Not a problem at all.” He looked around at everyone, grinning. “You have no idea how much you all just improved my day.”

  
“Yeah, poor baby, chained to the country club. How do you get by.” Natasha said, half smiling.

  
Tony laughed, looking around and just gleeful at how good they looked as a group. “Well. Shall we?”


	8. Chapter 8

“You all planned this behind my back, didn’t you?” Tony said, sitting in the limo, still staring around at everyone and concluding he was in a limo full of the sexiest people on the planet. Probably that still fell under ‘just another day in the life of Tony Stark’, except for the whole superheroes caveat. Everyone dressed up well. Just damn.

  
“We talked about it before dinner, Man of Iron, and we thought it would be a good way to say thank you for this trip.” Thor replied.

  
“Well, I am officially overwhelmed. I’d say speechless, but I don’t get speechless.”

  
Loki smirked at him, mostly because he knew times when Tony did in fact shut up.

  
“You do realize what this is going to do to this event.” Pepper said, looking around at everyone.

  
“Give the people who think the Avengers are a money pit a nice big cup of shut the fuck up?” Tony replied brightly.

  
Pepper put her head in her hands and groaned. Everyone else in the limo badly muffled their laughter. “Yes. On this note, I’m just going to ask the huge favor that everyone at least try to let this end in positive press. Please?”

  
“You’re worrying too much. Look at these two,” Tony gestured at Thor and Steve, in suits and their appearance nearly demanding spotlights. “And tell me we’ll end up with any sort of bad press.”

  
“I hate to admit Tony’s right about anything but he might have a point.” Clint said.

  
“I’m not sure how I feel about being made into the group’s positive image.” Steve said.

  
“You’re the Captain, Cap.” Tony replied. “Also, please examine your competition.”

  
“And Tony gets to be right about two things today.” Clint snorted.

  
The long half circle driveway in front of the club was lined with cars waiting for valet parking, so the limo just glided past them all, neatly taking the spot in front of the doors and Happy grinning back at them though the open window that was between the driver and the passenger area. Steve got out and held the door for them all, the group gathering up, taking in the setting, the limo pulling away once empty. The valets were staring, and were ignored.

  
“Have I been here before?” Tony asked Pepper.

  
“Yes.” She replied, and he went with that. Hell, he didn’t remember.

  
He walked beside her on the way in, the others fanning out to either side, Loki and Bruce sticking close to them for similar reasons. The doors were opened and they stepped into what qualified as ridiculously understated opalescence as far as Tony was concerned, walking through the halls and turning into what was probably a ballroom, the crowd inside coming to a halt and staring at them as they walked in.

  
“Well, you actually showed up.” A well-dressed older man came over, looking at Tony with a lifted eyebrow.

  
“Afternoon, Michael.” Tony replied, shaking his hand. “Am I not welcome?”

  
“No, of course you are. We hoped you’d come.” He looked at the group, which was already starting to break up and mingle. “That said, when we said you could bring guests we were not expecting an entire entourage.”

  
“They’re not an entourage. They’re the Avengers.” Tony gave him a look, grinning at the gape he got in return. “Now, if you’d rather not have Captain America and two Asgardian princes at your get together, well…”

  
“No, no! In fact, introduce me, but let me get my wife first.” And Michael was gone, looking stunned.

  
“And he was?” Loki wanted to know.

  
“Member of the board.” Pepper replied.

  
After that, Tony was kept busy introducing people to each other, then pulled back, claiming a spot at the bar to lean and watching with an odd feeling of satisfaction as Steve and Thor became immediate centers of attention. More satisfying was watching Loki, who looked perfectly in place with his lavish surroundings. He obviously wasn’t entirely comfortable, but he bore it with grace, especially when young women magically appeared to talk to him because they were just SO EXCITED to meet a prince, are you really a prince?

  
“I’m really not sure how to feel about this.” Bruce said, leaning back on the bar next to Tony.

  
“Why do you think I have a reputation for being a no show?” Tony studied his drink, then paused, looking sideways at Bruce. “Don’t answer that.”

  
Bruce snickered.

  
Loki disengaged himself from the crowds and made his way over, leaning on the bar with his back to the crowds and exhaling before giving Tony and Bruce a grin of utter mania. “I want to kill all of these people.” He said, voice amazingly light.

  
Tony blinked. “Please don’t.”

  
“Oh, I’m not going to.” Loki rubbed his eyes, giggling in that off balance way. “But when I thought this world was full of bleating, cowardly sheep, these are the people I meant.”

  
Bruce looked at Tony, who shrugged, because it was a hard point to refute in both their minds.

  
The bartender was staring, so Loki smiled and got a drink, focusing on that for the moment, shifting to lean back against the bar.

  
“Do you need to get out of here? Just tell me.” Tony finally said, looking at him.

  
“No. Just… stay close.” Loki finally said, looking out over the crowds and shaking his head a bit at Thor, who was amusing the hell out of the rich people and having fun doing it, for all appearances.

  
“Of course.” He offered Loki a smile, hoping it was a reassuring one, and relaxed, honestly comfortable between what were functionally his lab partners, or his lab partner and his… partner. Of course, the moment was ruined almost immediately by a female voice calling his name, and he looked up as a beautiful woman clicked over in her heels.

  
“Hi, Tony! Remember me?”

  
“Nope.” He took a sip of his drink, staring at her blankly.

  
She briefly looked appalled, then laughed it off. “It has been a few years.” Seeing no reaction from him, she sighed. “Maxim Magazine?”

  
“Oh.” He blinked. “Okay. Yes, I do remember.” And he sipped his drink, lifting an eyebrow and waiting for her point.

  
She looked at Bruce, who looked back, then at Loki, who was leaning one elbow on the bar and looking at her like she was one of the least interesting things in the room and frankly, beneath his concern. “Maybe we could step outside and talk…?”

  
“Oh. So that’s how it is.” He set his glass down. “Let me see your hand.” She lifted an eyebrow and stepped in, holding one of her hands out like she was displaying a ring, then gaping when he simply grabbed it, tugging his tie to one side and pushing her palm against the surface of the arc reactor, holding it there firmly. “Feel that?”

  
“I, I… oh my god…” She tried to yank her hand back, and he held on.

  
“That never comes out. It never shuts off. That is, functionally, my heart. The vibration goes right to your bones, doesn’t it?” He watched her arm shudder, and released her hand, picking up his drink. “And you couldn’t even see it. How would you react when I took my shirt off?”

  
She staggered back a step, trying to subtly shake her hand off and failing miserably at the subtle part, gaping at him.

  
“Sorry. No repeat performances.” And he watched her take off into the crowd, shaking his head.

  
“Stark, that was cruel and unnecessary.” Loki said, looking at him. “I loved it.”

  
Tony burst into laughter, and fixed his tie.

  
“Well, well. Tony Stark. I see in spite of everything, you’re still an asshole.” Another woman walked over, smiling a bit.

  
He leveled a finger attached to his drink glass at her, thinking. “Chrissy…?”

  
“Christine Everhart. Congratulations, you remembered a girl’s name.” She half smiled.

  
“Apparently. You here for a story?” He gestured at their surroundings.

  
“Yes, and surprise, surprise, you’re here.” She quirked an eyebrow. “Any particular reason?”

  
“I was invited. Shocking, I know.”

  
“This one’s actually interesting.” Loki said, in a ‘you live for now’ tone.

  
She looked at him and lifted an eyebrow. “You must be one of our visiting Asgardian princes?”

  
“A prince in exile, I’m afraid.” He sipped his brandy. “I weary of explaining it.”

  
“I’m just Tony’s lab partner.” Bruce said when Christine looked at him.

  
“Well, I don’t give interviews normally, so are you here looking for a quote?” Tony wanted to know.

  
“You didn’t give me an interview last time either, you gave me a bruised hip.” Christine was not impressed.

  
Neither was Tony, then he got thoughtful. “Actually, I have a proposition for you. All business.”

  
She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

  
“One of the points of this event is to this is an attempt to draw some attention to some of Stark Industry’s favorite charities.” He drained the rest of his glass.

  
“Yes, I’m aware.”

  
“Call some attention to that in whatever you’re writing. Give it some positive press, put a bright light on it. Do that and I might be convinced to give you a day pass into Stark Tower in New York. Guided tour, shared levels, labs, manufacturing.” He watched her expression change.

  
She folded her arms and tilted her head at him. “Why should I believe you?”

  
“Bruce, Loki, bear witness for me?” Tony asked, and they both nodded. “That’s as good as you’re getting.”

  
She lifted an eyebrow again. “I’ll keep it in mind.” And she smoothly turned and walked away.

  
Tony pushed away from the bar, leaving his glass. “I need some air, how about you guys?”

* * *

 

There was an outside terrace, of course, looking out over some gorgeous California countryside and a meticulously maintained golf course. And of course the terrace had a partial wall, just right for people to lean on and look out over the amenities.

  
“Is that a stable?” Loki said after a moment, staring off to the side.

  
“Yeah, looks like it. Going to go hit on the horses?” Tony grinned when Loki gave him a look.

  
“Are you ever going to drop that?”

  
“Nope.” Their hands were on the far side of the wall, so he shifted his and caught Loki’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Loki returned the grip after a moment, still staring out over the landscaped countryside, smile relaxing, a bit of the mania receding.

  
“It’s just a change I suppose. The only horses I saw in New York were ridden by police.” Loki said after a moment. “So seeing some out in a proper pasture is a bit of a relief.”

  
“You ride?”

  
“My brother and I are both equestrians.” He paused, and looked at Tony. “Say it.”

  
“Well, now I can’t if that’s that obvious.”

  
Bruce started laughing, leaning on the wall and grinning at them. “Loki, I look forward to you joining us in the labs.”

  
“Really?” Loki looked at him and lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Yes.” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, giggling.

  
Tony reached over with his free hand and mussed up Bruce’s hair.

  
“Escaping the room?” Natasha asked, walking over and leaning back on the wall, propping her elbows on it. “This hasn’t been so bad, if you don’t mind hearing a lot about stock portfolios.”

  
“Just getting some air.” Tony smiled at her. “Where’s Clint?” She pointed upwards, and he looked over his shoulder and saw Clint on an upper balcony. “Doing his thing huh?”

  
“Hey Stark, blow me.” Clint offered.

  
“Don’t make offers you won’t follow through on.” He tutted.

  
“Brother!” Thor’s voice led the way, the other Asgardian stepping onto the terrace, all brilliant sunshine and smiles. “They keep horses here and I just got an offer from one of the owners, and we have not gone riding together in far too long.”

  
“Stark? Shut up.” Loki said without looking at him. Tony let go of his hand and slouched over the wall, giggling helplessly.

  
“Tony, it has to stop being funny at some point.” Natasha finally said.

  
Tony gestured at Loki. “This man gave birth to a horse. I’m not allowed to find that both fascinating and hilarious at the same time?”

  
Loki rolled his eyes and muttered something in another language that made Thor start laughing.

  
“I am sure the Man of Iron means no ill will, brother. And Sleipnir grew to be a fine stallion.”

  
Tony looked at Natasha and gestured helplessly. She reached over and cuffed him upside the head.

  
“Thank you, Natasha.” Loki said, snickering. “Okay, Thor. This sounds like a fine idea.”

  
“Marvelous! I will return shortly.” And Thor was gone again, back inside.

  
“Well, now I kind of want to see this.” Tony said.

  
“You don’t ride?” Loki looked at him.

  
“Nope. That’s half the reason I want to see it.”

  
And a short time later they were walking down a stone pathway to the barn, being led by a middle aged man and his teenage daughter, who were talking about the stable and pastures, Tony honestly wasn’t listening. And neither was Loki, he noticed, who seemed to be sizing up the four legged beasts. But so was Thor.

  
“We mostly keep gaited horses.” Said the man, a stockholder that Tony could not be bothered to know the name of. “And Arabians, but they can be a handful.”

  
Loki was walking the fence line, stopping at a separate part of the corral where a brown and white pinto was by itself, pacing and watching them. “Why’s he separate?”

  
“That’s Renee’s mustang.” The man patted his daughter’s shoulder. “She loves them, so I caved, but she’s the only one who can get near it I’m afraid.”

  
Loki leaned on the fence, watching the mustang move. “Of course she is. She respects him. You think he’s a mongrel, and he is proud.”

  
That brought the man up short, staring at Loki in confusion. But Renee laughed and joined Loki on the fence. “That is some Strider level stuff there. I wouldn’t try it though, he’s got a temper.”

  
“Brother?” Thor asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  
And Loki was already over the fence in a bound. The mustang whirled, ears pinning back and pawing the ground, and Loki had not a care in the world, singing in that other language, not approaching, just there, watching the horse pace around him for several moments before walking up to him and head butting him. And Loki grinned, willingly leaning his forehead against the stallion’s, still speaking in that other language.

  
“Okay, what the fuck?” Tony looked at Thor.

  
Thor shrugged, and also hopped the fence to where the other horses were.

  
“You know, our insurance…” Renee’s father started helplessly.

  
Loki had already swung up on the mustang’s back, totally bareback, brushing his hair out of his eyes, one hand lightly gripping the mustang’s mane as it turned and dug in, muscles contracting and leaping the fence, hitting the ground on the other side as Thor landed on the other side, astride a wild eyed grey Arabian. “Catch me if you can, brother.” And they were gone, the mustang digging in and the Arabian hot on its tail, both bareback.

  
“Well. That was interesting.” Tony said, staring after them.

  
“They don’t know the land! What if they get lost?” Renee asked.

  
“Thor’s a demigod, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” He replied, heading back to the clubhouse, shaking his head in wonder.

* * *

 

The whole soiree was winding down when the two riders returned, riding right up to the club house and onto the terrace, vests open and ties undone, hair windblown, both laughing. The rest of the partygoers gathered at the windows curiously at this.  
“Welcome back.” Steve said, he’d long since retired to one of the tables on the terrace with a beer, followed by a small crowd. “Tony told us, did you have fun?”

  
“Oh, yes.” Thor’s voice was a boom, grinning. “It had been a long time.”

  
Loki smiled and patted one of the mustang’s shoulders, getting a chuffing noise in response. “Sorry for being gone so long.”

  
“They’ll get over it.” Tony replied, stepping out to join them. “Might want to take your new friends home.”

  
“I suppose that we should.” Thor agreed, and the Arabian turned willingly under him, walking down the walkway, Loki following.

  
“The brothers getting along, wonders will never cease.” Steve smiled at Tony.

  
“Yeah, no kidding.”

* * *

 

“I am sorry for leaving you so suddenly.” Loki said, following Pepper and Tony into the hotel room.

  
“No, man, you’re allowed to have fun.” Tony replied, taking his suit jacket off, rolling his shoulders. “I enjoy your company, but it was nice to see you getting along with Thor.”

  
“It was a moment of delightful common ground.” Loki admitted, already down to only the pants and silk shirt, which Tony figured they weren’t getting off him for a while yet. “You seem… not upset, but…”

  
“Yeah, after you guys left Pepper made me go talk to everyone.” He put on a long suffering look.

  
Pepper burst into laughter. “You’d think I made him walk on hot coal.”

  
“You’re the people person, not me.” He pulled her in with one arm and kissed by one of her ears.

  
She smiled, nuzzling into him. “Go fly, Tony, I know you want to.”

  
“Well, I… Yes.” He said, brought up short. “Am I that transparent?”

  
“No, but you are at times predictable.” She pecked his lips. “And you’re not one of them. You’re Ironman.”

  
He grinned. “I love you.” And he stepped away, getting out of the suit and hanging it up, tossing on some drawstring pants and a concert shirt before grabbing the brief case suit. Loki appeared in the doorway, leaning one shoulder on the frame, watching with an eyebrow up. Tony grinned at him and activated it, letting the suit fold onto him and stretching out once it was fully on, putting his faceplate up and walking over. “I shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”

  
Loki set a hand on his chest plate, hooking his fingers into the grooves and pulling him in. “Good.” The kiss that followed was hot and strange, Loki shifting his arms to drape over Tony’s armored shoulders, growling softly into it when he felt armored hands land on his hips and grip there, biting his lower lip when it eased out, foreheads leaning together. “Enjoy yourself.”

  
“Oh, I will.” Tony bit Loki’s bottom lip for him, then pulled away and walked through the hotel room, putting the faceplate down as he stepped out onto the balcony and leapt over the railing to launch, gone in a streak of light.

  
Loki rubbed his face, honestly surprised at how much that had gotten to him, before stepping out to the living room, finding Pepper on the sofa using Tony’s laptop. She looked at him and smiled, so he sat down with her, snuggling against her and sighing. “He still won’t shut up about Sleipnir.”

  
“Are you honestly surprised?” She lifted an eyebrow at him. “Or upset?”

  
“Neither, really.” He admitted, leaning his chin on her near shoulder, eyes half open. “He holds no malice. He’s just… amused. Curious.”

  
“Mmhm. That’s how he is with people he cares about.” She turned her head and kissed his forehead. “So, horseback riding with Thor, hmm?”

  
“It was his suggestion.” He was quiet for a moment. “And there were moments, riding through trees, where we could have been young again. On Asgard, again. It was… nostalgic. Painless.”

  
She smiled warmly and nuzzled him, shifting so she could work on the laptop one-handed and wrap the other arm around him. He sighed and relaxed into her, letting his eyes close, safe in her hold.

* * *

 

Tony couldn’t headbang in the suit while he was flying. It screwed up his flightpath. So he just sang louder. He’d been in the suit for several hours how, and he was sure they were starting to wonder where he’d gone to, but he didn’t care. Flying in Malibu again was wonderful, he’d turned off his com and told Jarvis to pump the music up to the point where the AI refused to lift volume again for fear of permanently damaging Tony’s ears.

  
“Who killed John Henry, in the battle of sinners and saints? Who killed John Henry, in the battle of sinners and saints?” He was singing at the top of his lungs. Whatever. No one could hear him.

  
And now he was on the deck of the ocean, one hand down and brushing along the waves. The suit was a workout, a fact that he didn’t really talk about. The suit rode him as much as he rode it. The suit sang around him. The suit was pleasure and he wasn’t sure he could ever do without it, especially after a day like today, all the sharks at the fundraiser. It was easier to fly it off, blank his mind and lose himself in the fact that he was fucking flying.

  
“Take this hammer, carry it to the captain, tell him why I’m gone.”

  
He kicked away from the ocean and flew straight up, crossing his arms over his chest and pushing for altitude, tilting his head back a bit in the helmet and closing his eyes. This song was a deviation from his usual genres, but he’d gotten a bit into blues after taking Loki to the festival those few months ago.

  
“Gimme the hammer that killed John Henry, cos it won’t kill me.”

  
He doubled back on himself and dove, racing back for the coastline, glancing at his flight timer, feeling the sweat soaking his clothes. Time to go in. He was sure Loki and Pepper were wondering. And he had so many wonderful terrible things he still wanted to do to them.

  
“Take this hammer, carry it to the Captain, tell him why I’m gone. I’m a wanted man with the Captain, I’m a wanted man in the shackles…”

  
He watched the hotel approach in his view, flying on the deck above the water again, the HUD bringing up where their balcony was amongst the rooms and picking out people on the outer walkways, having drinks in the dim sunlight. And he grinned.

  
“Tower, requesting a flyby.” He was grinning so hard it hurt.

  
“Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full.” Jarvis replied, sounding far too amused.

  
“Who killed John Henry, in the battle of sinners and saints!” And he pulled up at the last minute in a crest of ocean water, coming within inches of hitting the walkway rails and scaring the unholy shit out of several hotel patrons and a lot of seagulls. And he couldn’t even be sorry, he was laughing, doing a flyby of the hotel and letting them stare. “I killed John Henry, in the battle of sinners and saints…”

  
He braked at the last minute, nimbly managing to grab the railing of his balcony and flipping over it, landing in a crouch and standing up, rolling his shoulders and stepping back into his hotel room. “Hey. I’m back.”

  
Pepper was at her laptop, on the phone by the looks, but she grinned at him. Loki was sprawled out next to her, head in her lap, looking like he was half asleep. She covered her mic. “Welcome back. Sorry, I’m talking to Japan.”

  
“That’s fine, I have to shower anyway.” He cued the suit to unfold off him, letting his head back and swallowing the groan as it collapsed away, leaving him soaked in sweat, rode hard and put away wet. He shook off and picked up the case, and realized they were both watching him. So he stuck his tongue out and hauled the case back to the bedroom, humming to himself.

  
“Wow.” Loki said quietly, staring after him.

  
“Go on.” She replied equally quietly, trying hard to listen to the conference call. “He’ll love it.”

  
“Oooohh. I don’t need to be told twice.” Loki rolled off the couch and walked away, sticking his head into the bathroom and just standing there for a second, watching Tony strip out of the sweat soaked clothing. A tempting picture if there ever was one so he stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, grabbing Tony’s bare body to his chest and biting into the side of his neck, fisting a hand into his soaked sweaty hair and pulling slowly.

  
“Ahhhhh hhhiii Loki.” Tony said, biting back a laugh, shuddering and feeling his eyes roll back a bit, body more than willing to respond to those cues.

  
“And how often do you come back like that, hmm? Raw and used and ready?” Loki’s teeth were now on Tony’s close ear, scuffing, grinning when Tony’s hands came up and fisted into his hair. “You work like that? You fight armies dancing on the edge of climax? Goodness.”

  
“Ngh. No. I can ignore it. But I can also really get into it and this was one of those times.” He writhed, because Loki had a dangerously talented mouth, shaking.

  
And Loki let him go, grinning at the disappointed whine Tony made. “Get in the water, Stark.” He unbuttoned the silk shirt he still wore, slowly, watching Tony set up the shower and hop in, standing under the water with his hands propped on the wall, groaning under his breath. “Do you have any idea how you look?” He discarded the shirt and got out of his pants in record time, stepping into the shower and getting Tony against the wall, closing the eyes against the water and getting his teeth back into Tony’s neck.

  
Tony didn’t bother replying, leaning on the tiled wall of the shower and shivering, letting the taller man command the situation, tilting his head to give Loki better access to his neck and smiling when Loki’s hands played down his back. He was still trembling from the exertion of the flight, and he willingly melted into Loki’s hands.

  
“So, now I’m curious. Have the others seen you like this?” Loki nuzzled and bit under one of his ears, just short of Tony’s earlobe, grinning.

  
“Nnh. No. Sure, they’ve seen me sweated out and… fuck…” He hissed, twitching as Loki rubbed against him. Months ago, when still-demigod Loki had jumped him, he’d actually let Loki top. And afterwards had got the feeling that he’d have a very hard time matching that. Hazards of screwing demigods he guessed, having your standards lifted, but mortal Loki didn’t disappoint in any way. Loki pulled back and he turned, pushing his shoulder blades against the cold damp tile and pulling Loki down, hungry, desperate, pushing up into the kiss and fighting through it like his life depended on it.

  
Loki grinned into it, and more so when the noises Tony was making went damn near silent. Because Tony Stark had an inverse relationship with noise and sex. When he got intent, focused, he went quiet, all serious sharp intense stares and tiny noises at most, letting it all out when he hit release. And right now Tony was making only the thinnest pleading whine during the kiss, pushed against him to make one hot line of skin, reactor digging against his chest, the hum of it an oddly pleasant tickle. He pulled out of the embrace, hair stuck to him and falling in his face, grinning down at the shorter man.

  
Tony grinned back, because of how Loki looked, feral and on edge and possessive and pushing into something very, very not human. But was Loki really human even now? He ran his hands down Loki’s body, just to see the expressions flicker across his face, his eye color melt and brighten, that tiniest spark of something else still alive inside him, glowing when Tony stroked over him.

  
Then, so fast he nearly slipped, he was chest first against the tile again, laughing and staying there as Loki tried to find something to use as lube and stepped back out of the shower, growling and annoyed. “Bag in the drawer, sheesh.”

  
Then Loki was back against him, clever mouth leaving what might turn into bruises along the line of his shoulder, just short of where his shirts normally sat, hands at work, making Tony jump and actually cry out then promptly trail into low intense breathing, arms crossed above his head and hands curling into fists, trembling. Loki grinned, teeth in the curve that Tony’s neck and shoulder made, sliding his free hand up to fist back into Tony’s hair and pull again. The electric shudder the shorter man went into was delicious.

  
“Just, fuck…” Tony’s voice was a hiss, body shaking, railing against him, the burn of his flight neatly folding into what Loki was doing to him. “Come on. Stop teasing…” He barely got the phrase out before Loki had shoved inside him, the flick of pain turning into a shock of pleasure, arching his back and tilting his head back, gasping. “Ffffuck, okay, that’s what I needed.”

  
And Loki had to laugh, because this former CEO, this hero, this Avenger was totally shameless, arching against him and putting a hand back to fist into his long wet hair again, gasping and shaking, gone somewhere. He’d called Tony out the first day he’d visited that he thought Tony was a hedonist. It was written all over his body, really, easy to read when he’d been a demigod. Now, in this kind of situation, Tony Stark was beautiful and needy and his. Yeah, it was a three way relationship but Pepper couldn’t make Tony do this. This was all for him, and he lived for the tiny ragged noise Tony made when his first hard take no prisoners thrust landed, hands tight on Tony’s hips, fully intended to leave finger bruises there.

  
Tony willingly let his head fall back and eyes close, nothing existed but this, body jerking at the first grinding pressure against his prostate. Fuck, yes, more of that he thought, head resting against one of Loki’s shoulders and Loki’s face tucked into his neck, luxuriating in the growling the taller man was doing. He loved Pepper more than anything but he’d had to acknowledge at some point he needed a guy in his life too, because it didn’t take much for Loki to put him back on the bleeding knife edge of climax and keep him there, and he was lost in it. He knew he became a hot needy mess when he got his brains banged out, hand digging into Loki’s hair hard, mind buckling down and focusing.

  
Loki muffled his snarl into Tony’s neck, breathing hard, shoving Tony hard against the wall and smiling at the noise Tony made at the sudden coldness of the tile. He shifted his head and nuzzled into him to get him to open his eyes, and Tony looked at him, pupils blown out, eyes barely open, and something about that heavy hot gaze made him thrust faster, deeper, one hand sliding around Tony’s body to drag his fingernails slowly around the arc reactor.

  
“Loki...” Tony’s voice was reverent, a prayer, the barest whisper in the shower.

  
Loki’s eyes widened, he was fallen from Asgard but he still knew what worship sounded like, clutching Tony tight briefly to a sigh of pleasure. “Do that again. Say my name again…” His words were muffled into Tony’s skin, not even ashamed, body stilling just to grind against the shorter man, feeling him writhe in protest.

  
“Loki… ah…” Tony’s voice was desperate, needy, overclocking, almost there. “Please…”

  
Then Loki had shifted so he could kiss him, hard, possessive, feral, animal, clutching Stark’s body close as he moved. Tony’s tiny sounds broke to little sobs of pleasure, muffled into the embrace, finally breaking it to cry out, to wail.

  
“Ohhhh my god Loki…” And Tony was locking up, body stutterstopping as he came so hard he thought he went blind, Loki muffling what sounded a lot like howl against his shoulder as he finished, teeth digging into one of Tony’s shoulders hard enough he drew blood, shuddering.

  
Then it was all silence and static, Loki leaning heavily against his back, gasping for air, and Tony starting to laugh, soft and warm.

  
“I don’t know who taught you to fuck but they need an award.” Tony giggled.

  
“…shut up, Stark.”

* * *

 

Pepper tried to focus on the conference call, wondering why they always seemed to happen on awkward times or days, but sometimes business waited for no one. She was more than used to using laptops to join phonecalls to the other side of the planet, but she didn’t normally do them when the two gorgeous men in her life were probably screwing in the shower.

  
And that was it, wasn’t it? Loki wasn’t transient. She’d been fine with him since the last visit. She’d welcomed him back. But at some point it had officially became ‘the two men in her life’, not ‘the crazy gorgeous guy Tony can’t keep his hands off and neither can I.’ Hmm.

  
She shook off and tried to listen, eventually very glad for her fast hands, muting her mic when a double cry of pleasure echoed from the bathroom, blowing out a sigh with a smile. Why couldn’t this call just end?

  
“Miss Potts?”

  
“Oh, sorry about that gentlemen.” She said, unmuting her mic. “I felt a sneeze coming on, and didn’t want to be rude.”

  
One of the men on the other side of the conference call chuckled warmly. “That is fine. Now, to continue…”

  
By the time she’d ended the call and closed the laptop, the shower had long since shut off, and she sighed, standing and stretching, walking to the door of the bedroom and looking in at the two already in bed. “Do I get a turn now?”

  
“Japan must really like you.” Tony said, sitting up and holding out a hand. “Yeah, we’ve been waiting.”

  
She grinned and stripped as she walked, taking his hand and letting herself get pulled between them.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony twitched awake, shaking his head a bit and taking stock of the situation before extricating himself from the tangle, shifting to the edge of the bed and yawning, looking at his phone for the time even though the clock was right there because it was a long ingrained habit. Time zones, he thought groggily, staggering to his feet and rubbing his shoulder where Loki had bit the night before, then his collarbone where Pepper had. He’d be feeling those for a while, but he was far from complaining, in fact feeling cheerful as he opened the curtains and winced painfully at the sudden blare of sunlight.

  
Behind him on the bed, Loki hissed in distaste, draping an arm over his eyes. “Next time, perhaps a warning?”

  
“I thought you were asleep.” He replied, leaning on the windowsill.

  
“I’ve told you, I am a light sleeper.” Loki rolled to look at him, Pepper shifting and settling to cuddle against his back.

  
“Right.” He looked over at Loki and froze, hair on the back of his neck slowly coming on end, then whipping the phone out, hammering on the camera button.

  
“What is…?” Loki asked, but Tony was already stepping over, turning the phone to show the picture. Loki took it and gaped, then scrambled out of the bed, hitting the carpet less than gracefully and nearly running into the bathroom, flipping on the light and leaning on the counter to stare into the mirror.

  
Tony followed and crossed his arms, watching Loki stare at himself, the poison green eyes glowing in the mirror. “You got your eyes back.”

  
“I… I do not know what this means.” Loki looked at him over his shoulder, looking shocked.

  
“You feel any different?”

  
“No.” He swallowed hard and shook his head, feeling like his mortal body was rebelling against him, a wave of nausea slamming him. Asgardian eyes? But nothing else felt different. Before he could always feel the power, the low burn and potential blaze of magic and strength, the knowledge of what he could do. But, now, even his mental spellbook was in tatters, unable to remember proper couplets and chants, those ripped away from him as surely as his power. And it was all still gone?

  
Tony wasn’t surprised when Loki slumped on the counter of the sink and began to sob, stepping forward and pulling him up to some struggle, dragging him into the living area of the hotel room and sitting him down on the couch, glad they were both in sweat shorts as sleep wear. “Hey.” He cupped Loki’s face in his hands, wiping his tears away gently and looking at the totally broken expression. “I know you’re upset but we need to figure this out.”

  
“This has to be a way to torment me.” Loki replied, pulling away to scrub at his own face.  
“Is that the only option? Is something changing?”

  
“I told you. I feel no different.” He curled his hands, grasping mentally for anything, any power, and just found remnants and shadows, the only vaguest spark that hinted at what had once been a bonfire. “There is nothing. I am a husk.”

  
“Then why would this happen?”

  
Loki shook his head, burying his face into his hands.

  
“Hey.” Pepper appeared, wearing one of Tony’s t-shirts, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. “What’s wrong?” She paused when Loki just looked at her, tilting her head.

  
“He doesn’t know why.” Tony said in reply to her unasked question.

  
“Well, I don’t think it’s anything to be upset about.” She walked over and leaned down to press a kiss to Loki’s forehead. “Why be upset at the return of something so beautiful?”

  
Loki put an arm around her waist and pulled her in, resting his cheek against her stomach. “You can put things so eloquently when you want to.”

  
Pepper just smiled, carding a hand through his hair. “You think Thor would know?”

  
“It might be worth a shot.” Tony said. “Why not?”

* * *

 

They eventually found Thor on the beach. Apparently, he had discovered surfing. Not being good at it didn’t stop him from enjoying himself, either, and the chill of the water didn’t seem to bother him at all, wearing only swim trunks when the other surfers were in wetsuits.

  
“What a strange and delightful activity!” He said by way of greeting when they walked up, standing on the beach towel drying his hair. Jane was relaxed nearby on a beach towel, enjoying the sun and smiling as she watched them.

  
“Was never my thing.” Tony admitted.

  
“Brother.” Thor tilted his head at Loki then stepped closer, peering.

  
“No power has return to me, but my eyes changed.” Loki said, shaking his head. “Loathe as I am to admit it, I have no ideas as to what this means.”

  
Thor rubbed his chin for a long moment, considering him intensely, then shook his head. “This was never my specialty, you know that.”

  
“Yes, I do know.”

  
“Well, it is not a bad thing, no matter the why or how.” Thor decided, clasping and patting Loki’s shoulders, smiling.

  
“I can only hope that you are right.”

  
“Man of Iron, perhaps we can go somewhere for midday meal?” Thor glanced at him.

  
Tony considered. “Yeah, I know a few places.”

* * *

 

“All of the places in Malibu and we’re at a burger joint.” Natasha said, sitting down at the table.

  
“You didn’t have to come with.” Tony replied, sitting down and looking around the restaurant cheerfully. “I’ve just missed this place since moving to New York.”

  
“I remember.” Pepper said, also looking around and smiling. Locally owned and known for having some absolutely great burgers among other things, they’d manage to get enough space for the group somehow.

  
“I’m enjoying all of us being together like this.” Steve said, relaxing back in his chair, leaning so one forearm was resting on the back of it. “We split up and do our own things at the Tower more often than not.”

  
“Yeah, this is nice.” Bruce said, smiling.

  
“You think we can bill this to Fury as a team building exercise?” Clint looked at Natasha, lifting an eyebrow.

  
“I never told him we were going to Malibu. Did anyone else?” Tony wanted to know, and watched everyone look at each other. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t notice.”

  
“I’m sure he already has.” Natasha replied.

  
“Well, has anyone gotten an angry phone call, because I haven’t.”

  
Loki giggled to himself in that off-balance way. He’d been in what Tony judged to be a fucked up mood all day so far, but he wasn’t sure if he blamed Loki for that either.

  
The waitress got their drink orders then brought them over. The crowd around them didn’t really seem to notice them, or at least was trying to write them off, and they were willing to let the crowds try.

  
Loki was drinking iced tea and staring past the other Avengers to look out the window when he suddenly went still, and Tony saw his eyes light up a bit more. “No one move, no one draw attention to us.” Loki said slowly, quietly, the intensity of his voice getting everyone’s attention. “Parking lot. Blue vehicle. Men with weapons, and masks.”

  
The table went still, Natasha and Clint seeing the problem before Loki even got all the words out.

  
“Seriously? Is this place about to get robbed?” Pepper hissed. “Can’t we just go out once without drama ensuing?”

  
“None of you seem worried.” Jane glanced around.

  
“Let’s just see what happens.” Tony shrugged, holding his soda glass. “Bruce? You okay?”

  
“I’ll be fine.” Bruce replied. “My baseline is steady. Unless they shoot me then no promises.”

  
“That’s fair. So, who wants to handle this?”

  
The doors banged open and the two thugs charged in, one with a handgun the other with a shotgun, weapons brought to bear and yelling. The restaurant hit the deck, people ducking under their tables and the employees throwing themselves down, screams echoing. Then the restaurant was nearly silent except the thugs standing there, staring at where the Avengers and friends sat, still in their seats and staring back, completely unimpressed.

  
“Get on the ground!” The one with the shotgun yelled.

  
“No.” Tony said. “Who wants this, because I’m not bulletproof right now. Just saying.” As he said this, he put his hand to the side and scruffed Loki, because he could already see his expression changing at the potential of violence. “And neither are you, violent tendencies poster child.”

  
“You are no fun at all!” Loki’s voice was angry, strident, and full of mania, the shotgun wielding thug jerking a bit, eyes widening in the ski mask.

  
“Listen, faggots…” The second thug spat.

  
“That’s enough.” Thor stood, the sunshine outside lessening as clouds rushed in, bringing himself to his full height and standing in front of the table, crossing his arms. “You have issued your ultimatum. Here is ours. Leave now, hurt no one, and we will not be forced to deal with you.”

  
“And who the fuck are you?!” The thug snarled, shotgun coming up into Thor’s face.

  
One of Thor’s hands snapped out, grabbing the gun neatly away and closing his hand tight on the barrel, crushing it as he put his other arm out the side. There was a crash and the scream of a car alarm from the parking lot, then a restaurant window popped and Mjolnir was in Thor’s hand, lightning striking outside.

  
“Since you asked nicely…” Tony said, leaning back in his chair slightly to see around Thor. “He’s Thor, his backup is Captain America, I’m Ironman, and the one I’m restraining next to me is Loki, and if I let him go I’m sure he will paint half the state with your innards, because he’s into that.”

  
“They’ve threatened innocent people. Are you telling me I am in the wrong?” Loki wanted to know.

  
The two thugs just stared for a second, then Thor took a step forward, spinning Mjolnir in his hand in a careless way, and they bolted, the other one throwing his handgun down as they ran back out the door.

  
“Are we letting them go?” Thor wanted to know, propping Mjolnir on his shoulder and looking back at the table, dropping the ruined shotgun aside belatedly.

  
“Eh. We’ll give them to Clint and Loki if they come back.” Tony took a drink of his soda, and looked at the employees that were peeking around counters. “It’s all good. Sorry about the window.”

  
“I never get to have any fun.” Loki sulked over his tea as Thor sat back down, parking his hammer on the table.

  
“I might owe you a vehicle, Man of Iron.”

  
“It’s a rental.” He shrugged.

  
The silence in the restaurant ended with gasps and cries, people getting back into their seats, comforting each other, the wail of sirens in the background getting closer. Silent alarm tripped probably. The group just shook their heads and looked pleadingly around for their waitress, and instead got half the restaurant staff including the manager. By the time the cops were pulled into the parking lot, they had a table full of comped food, cheerfully digging in and trying to go about their day.

  
“We really are sorry about the window.” Steve was saying to the manager.

  
“No, trust me. Two assholes coming in here to rob the place and we just have to buy a new window?” The manager wove his hands. “Are you guys really…?”

  
“Yes.” Bruce said, preoccupied with three ice cream shakes, a burger and a pile of fries.

  
“Do you really intend to eat all that?” Clint said. “How do you stay so thin?”

  
“I guess being angry burns calories.”

  
“Why the violent mood, brother?” Thor wanted to know.

  
“I am frustrated and they would have been a very convenient target.” Loki was working on a salad. “A convenient and deserving target. Why did we let them leave?”

  
“Sometimes, it’s just not worth the bloodshed. Who knows, maybe they’ll straighten up now.” Pepper replied.

  
The cops stepped into the restaurant, taking in the broken window, the discarded guns still on the floor (one with an obvious handprint in the metal) and the table that was center of attention, multiple patrons wordlessly holding their phones (and one person a digital camera) on the group.

  
“What in the hell.” Said one cop breathlessly.

  
“Avengers, assembled.” Steve said. “Afternoon, officer.”

* * *

 

Several patrons had footage of the events, so the cops got to watch what had happened from multiple angles, including one person who happily slowed the footage down so they could see the window fly apart and Mjolnir come to Thor’s hand through midair on its own. Their talking to the eager to share people and restaurant employees bought the group enough time to eat, at least. The guns were taken for fingerprinting and statements were taken.

  
Not that they got away after that, because the media showed up. Who’d called them was anyone’s guess, but they caught the Avengers on the way out, just trying to leave, so they got Tony’s baffled expression on camera as he stared at was left of the trunk of one of the cars.

  
“Okay, Point Break. I’m impressed.” He finally said, simultaneously wondering what they were going to tell the rental company, and glad that this hadn’t been one of his personal cars.

  
Thor shrugged helplessly. “I said I might owe you a vehicle.”

  
“So much for a low profile.” Pepper murmured, moving close to Tony to say that.

  
“Yeah, we’re going to get grilled for this.” He shook his head.

  
“It wasn’t the fault of you guys.” Jane protested. “And you helped.”

  
“Can we get a statement?” The reporter finally asked, walking up with her cameraman following.

  
“No comment.” Tony didn’t even think before saying the words.

  
“We went to lunch and accidently thwarted a robbery. That is all.” Said Steve, taking over and leading the reporter away from what was left of the car.

  
And the rest were left watching as Pepper and Steve fixed it, dealing with the news and getting a replacement rental car. And they were kept out of it, mostly because no one needed more sound bites. Even so it led to what became one of the more famous pictures of the Avengers: all six of them sitting on a curb in casual clothes, waiting to be able to leave.

* * *

 

They were all straggling back into the hotel lobby, full but all agreeing they could have gone without that particular fun, when Tony’s phone started ringing in the Imperial March.  
“Fury?” Steve asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  
“Imperial march? Really, now.” Bruce said.

  
Tony dug his phone out. “If you guys have a better idea for his ring tone, I’m taking suggestions.” He answered, putting it on speakerphone. “This is Stark.”

  
“A fact I’m well aware of. What were you thinking?” Fury wanted to know. “Am I on speakerphone?”

  
“Well, everyone’s here, so… yes.” Tony replied, more than able to envision Fury’s expression.

  
“Well take it off speakerphone, Stark, I just want to talk to you.” Once he had, Fury continued. “What the hell are you thinking?”

  
“Right now? I want some bourbon on the beach.” Tony continued to walk through the hotel, stepping outside onto the boardwalk and leaning there. The rest of the group shrugged at each other and went their separate ways, leaving Tony to the phone call.  
“Malibu. You took a violently insane, medicated super villain, to Malibu.” Fury’s voice was cutting.

  
“We all needed a vacation, and I had to come here anyway, so it seemed obvious. Loki’s been just fine, so far.”

  
“Really, because I have all sorts of news footage and on-scene footage that is hinting otherwise.”

  
“Wanting to beat the hell out of some gun wielding thugs is not exactly a desire limited to Loki.” Tony replied.

  
“My problem here is that I expected you to be professional. Or rather, I expected everyone around you to be professional, and make sure you didn’t turn this into a media fiasco. But you ARE a walking media fiasco.” Fury shook his head, looking at the footage that was already spreading across the internet. “And it’s only going to be a matter of time before someone makes a connection between your new best friend and the guy who wanted to conquer the planet.”

  
“If you’re talking about the footage from Germany, or any footage from New York, that includes Loki’s face… it’s gone.” Tony blew out a sigh. “I spent the better part of six weeks with Jarvis systematically removing it from the internet. If it shows his face, it’s gone. I did something similar for Bruce, Clint, and Natasha but they’re with us in public so I ended up giving up. It’s completely possible SHIELD has the only original video now showing Loki from before.”

  
“When did you do this exactly?”

  
“About a month after everything happened. Thor asked me to. Well, not exactly. Thor’s actually pretty smart, he just has issues with local lingo. He got the idea across.”

  
“And if more footage comes up?”

  
“Burn that bridge when we come to it.” Tony sighed. “As of now, I don’t intend for Loki to get much attention, besides “friend of the family” or “Thor’s brother in exile,” which is more than enough intrigue for the news.”

  
“We both know it won’t end there.”

  
“No shit. Loki’s convinced the chitauri are going to come after him.” He shook his head, figuring this had to come out sooner or later, may as well be now when he wasn’t within range of a punch. “He’s asked me about the possibility of armor and weapons, and I’m having trouble seeing the disadvantage.”

  
“Well, I see a hell of a disadvantage.” Fury snapped. “What if you arm him and he just attacks you all? And don’t even bother saying you don’t think he will, you’re not exactly unbiased.”

  
“What makes you say that?” Tony looked up and smiled when Pepper joined him and passed him a drink, mouthing ‘love you’ and smiling at her, taking a sip. Bourbon. He made a mental note to try to marry Pepper again.

  
Fury snorted. “You think we don’t keep an eye on you all?”

  
“Oh, I’m sure you do, and I’m sure you know the needs of Tony Stark’s dick occasionally trumps rational thought.” He grinned, watching Pepper struggle between smacking him one and bursting into laughter. “That said, I am the one who’s kept him in line, talked him down, kept him taking his meds, and generally made everyone else think that he’s capable of being a reasonable human being most of the time. So yeah, I’m not unbiased, but I am the most knowledgeable here. He barely talks to Thor anymore, but he talks to me, and Pepper as well.”

  
Fury groaned. “If you honestly expect me to believe you have the crazy villain on a leash…”

  
“I don’t. I trust him, he trusts me. And I think he could be a hell of an asset in battle. So, what I’m asking you is, if he keeps sticking to the medication and therapy, you give him a chance to prove himself in combat if the chitauri show up.”

  
There was a long silence on the phone, during which Fury sat back in his chair and looked at a publicity photo that had been sent to his computer, some high class thing Stark had drug the Avengers to the day before. It was Thor and Loki on horseback, and Loki seemed surprisingly… normal, for what he was. “If I get burned by this…”

  
“You won’t. It’s my idea, blame me.” Tony shrugged and sipped his bourbon.

  
“Put an off switch on his gear.” Fury finally said. “So we can shut down anything you give him if we deem it necessary.”

  
“Deal. Anything else?”

  
“Keep your ass out of the news, Stark.”

  
“No promises.” He hung up and pocketed the phone, then looked at Pepper and held up the glass. “You. Are amazing.”

  
She laughed and kissed him, warm and tender, leaning into him and smiling after, foreheads resting against one another. “For a conversation with Fury that sounded sedate.”

  
“Damn near was.” He smiled. “Where’s Loki?”

  
“Took his staff down to the beach to exercise. I loaned him my MP3 player.”

  
“Well, I might have to go watch.”

  
“Mm. Definitely.” She walked with him, lacing their hands together as they walked down to the beach. “I’m actually happy with how this is working out. That said, I would have happily split Bruce or Steve.” She arched an eyebrow at him.

  
Tony about choked at on his drink. “Bruce, naturally, I still have to keep from molesting him. Trying to respect his choices and all. But Steve?” He paused, looking at her then tilting his head back and forth. “Well, you and Steve I can see easily but you me and Steve?”

  
“That is the problem isn’t it?” She smiled and shrugged.

  
“Yeah I don’t get that from him. At least not in any way he’s actually broadcasting.” He stepped onto the beach easily, looking around. It was mid-afternoon, and there was a reasonable crowd on the beach, but it was easy to spot Loki, standing with his staff propped on his shoulder a reasonable distance from the water, considering Pepper’s MP3 player. It was a non-distributed Stark design, maybe a dozen in play and all held by people Tony knew and trusted. “Did you show him how to use it?”

  
“Yeah, he got the idea pretty fast. We’re not really dressed for the beach, you know.”

  
He shrugged, because he frankly didn’t care, finding a spot to sit under an unattended beach umbrella a reasonable distance from Loki, who was apparently satisfied with what music he’d picked because he was tucking the little touchscreen into the pocket of his exercise pants, taking the staff off his shoulder and spinning it idly in front of him for a moment before starting to move, going through a warm up. The other beach combers watched curiously, a few shifting to spectate one Loki took it up several gears and started a practice routine.

  
“I just realized something.” Pepper said, watching this.

  
“What?” Tony glanced at her.

  
“He’s going to sunburn like a lobster.”

  
He blinked, looked at Loki, then burst into laughter. “Oh, wow. You’re right. Do you think he’ll get freckles? That would be adorable if he did.”

  
“That’s not nice.” But she was giggling.

  
Loki didn’t really notice the people around him, continuing the exercise routine, disconnecting the staff into halves and reconnecting it as he went. Tony watched and tilted his head to one side, and realized Loki seemed to really like that mechanic, and cleared a spot in the sand, drawing design ideas with a fingertip as he watched Loki practice.

  
“You’re unbelievable sometimes.” Pepper said, watching him rework the connecting mechanism a few times, erasing with a frustrated swipe and starting over, g-force calculations scrawling across the sand and erased.

  
“That joint’s not going to last his practice weapon let alone in hard combat…” Tony said, writing fast as he worked out math again. “And then there’s the question of putting some kind of actual effect on it. It might be better off as a blunt instrument, like Steve’s shield.” He rattled his fingers in the sand. “That said, the way he’s moving all I can think about is Darth Maul.”

  
“Lightsabers.” Pepper slowly lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Yeah the trouble is, his hands aren’t limited to grips if you will, he grabs anywhere on those. So… it’d have to not hurt him but hurt someone else, or it’d have to be something he could turn on and off at will. And whatever this weapon becomes it can’t come back at us in someone else’s hands.” He shook his head. “This is going to be an interesting challenge.”

  
“You love it and you know it.” She kissed his cheek.

  
He nuzzled into it, swiping a hand to clear the sand again and just trying to watch Loki, then unashamedly cheering when Loki spiked the staff halves into the sand and peeled off the Trickery shirt. The bruises from Loki’s crash landing were fading now, in fact the darkest marks on him were marks Tony and Pepper had put there. Loki bit, they returned the favor. They’d all marked each other.

  
“Well, we’re going to be spending all of tonight dipping him in aloe.” Pepper was smiling though.

  
“I’m sorry, that’s a bad thing?”

  
Loki, still in headphones, had noticed them, and pulled the staff halves out of the sand, pointing one of them cheerfully then going back to what he was doing. The crowd at the perimeter of his workspace was growing, and he was both ignoring it and playing it up, as near as near as Tony and Pepper could tell.

  
“What the hell is he listening to?” Tony finally said.

  
“I think it’s Steve’s playlist.” She replied. Her MP3 player had its own music but it also was connected to the rolling playlists that were now seemingly part of Stark Tower.

  
“What’s he up to these days…” He tried to remember. “I think he’s mostly in Vietnam era stuff now. He’s been pretty methodical about working his way through the different eras.” Steve’s expression the first time he’d heard disco (particularly the European side of the movement) had been absolutely priceless.

  
“Yeah, he’s actually got a favorites list and a current list.” She replied. She knew because she listened to them a lot. She didn’t mind Tony’s music, but she got enough of it living with him.

  
Thor landed heavily next to Tony, sitting down with his hands on his knees and shouldering Tony on purpose. “Man of Iron.”

  
“Surfing?” Tony asked, glancing at Thor, in swim trunks and a shirt that was wet from him just pulling it on without bothering to dry himself. It’d already struck him that Thor was not at all out of place here. Hell, he blended.

  
“Oh indeed.” Thor smiled and gestured at Loki. “This seems productive to me. Practice instead of being violent to some common thugs.”

  
“Good job on that by the way.” Pepper said.

  
“It was nothing.” Thor kept the smile and wove a hand. “I would have liked to shake them around a bit, but I think I scared them enough.”

  
Loki, meanwhile, was standing still, head back and rolling it back and forth a bit, the staff broke down, holding one half so it was tucked up along his arm almost like a tonfa, tossing the other up and down in his hand. “Thor.” Thor looked up, and Loki turned and threw in one motion.

  
Thor’s hand came up and caught the short staff, laughing. “Is that an invitation, brother?”

  
Loki was already removing the headphones, tucking them in his pocket with the MP3 player. “I tire of fighting alone.” Then he was backing up, in a defensive posture, beckoning with his free hand. “But nothing serious, for we do not want to scare our audience now do we?”

  
Thor grinned and stood. “I think we could put on a bit of a show.”

  
“I’m going to get another phone call, aren’t I.” Tony said flatly, watching Thor cheerfully join Loki.

  
“Worth it.” Pepper kissed his cheek again.

  
He had to agree.


	10. Chapter 10

Loki was burned neon red. His face had somehow been mostly spared, though the scarlet still painted across his forehead nose and cheeks a bit, but his arms, shoulders, back and chest were flushed red, hot damaged painful skin. He was not pleased.  
“Second degree sunburn.” Pepper shook her head, sitting behind him on the bed and smoothing burn cream over his skin gently, watching him shudder.

  
“There is a way to prevent this in the future, correct?” Loki said, biting back a hiss of pain.

  
“Wow, that hurts to look at.” Tony said, appearing in the bedroom doorway, eyebrow up. “Yeah, I just bought some sunblock.”

  
“Could you have maybe told me this beforehand?” Loki wanted to know, wincing as Pepper’s gentle fingers skimmed over one of his shoulder blades.

  
“The last time I tried to interrupt someone practicing with headphones, Natasha nearly busted my nose on reflex.” He shrugged. “You understand.”

  
“The sad part is, he’s not going to get a tan.” Pepper sighed. “Not the right kind of skin.”

  
“I’m still holding out for freckles.” Tony half smiled, then looked over his shoulder when someone knocked on the door. Light and fast, so that ruled out basically everyone. He stepped over and looked at the peephole, and found Jane, holding a stack of binders and a pensive expression. Interesting, so he opened the door. “Hey.”

  
“Hi, uh…” She paused, then plowed forward. “So I’ve been really quiet because you guys are all really intimidating but then I decided that if I didn’t talk shop with you I’d kind of be squandering a huge opportunity and I know you don’t normally do astrophysics but you kind of do everything anyway so I was hoping…”

  
“Okay, whoa.” He put a hand. “Calm down. I’d love to. But we’re not cramming in around a coffee table and we’re not leaving Bruce out, so…” He left the door open and stepped over, closing his laptop and picking up the holograph mat.

  
“Good god!” Jane blurted when Loki appeared curiously in the doorway of the bedroom.

  
“Not currently. Curse your star.” Loki regarded his arms, sighing.

  
“Lay down, let the lotion work, try not to scratch.” Tony replied.

  
“Lying down hurts, Stark.” Loki gave him a look.

  
“Okay, less subtle. Spend time with Pepper you classically romantic bastard.” And he plowed out the door, dragging Jane with him, letting Loki stare after him.

  
“Well that was rude.” Loki finally said, then looked at Pepper over his shoulder. “Yet I’m somehow not complaining.” Pepper smiled, and he walked back over, sitting down and tilting his head back as she worked on his collarbones with the lotion, feeling the sting cool under the ointment.

  
“You know, I was waiting for Tony to find someone for us to share…” She said, focusing on what she was doing. “I was open to some options… But I’m glad he picked you.” She smiled and closed her eyes when he pressed a kiss to her forehead, warm and gentle.

  
Tony, meanwhile, had strolled down the hallway, shifting everything to one arm and banging on Bruce’s door, grinning when Bruce answered blinking. “Hey. I’m going to go talk science with Jane. Want to get in on this?”

  
Bruce tilted his head and smiled. “Is that a trick question? Where at?”

  
“Hopefully a conference room, if not I’m appropriating a restaurant table.” And Tony kept walking, now dragging Bruce and Jane along with him.

  
“And the fact that most of what we work on is on a need to know basis…” Bruce was amused.

  
“Are you under the impression that anyone will know what we’re talking about?”

  
“I just stepped right into the deep end, didn’t I?” Jane asked.

  
“Well, it’s a good thing you know how to swim then isn’t it.”

* * *

 

It turned out, Jane was hoping Tony was willing to talk about what he’d seen, space wise, when he’d redirected the nuke. And the truth was, Tony didn’t exactly remember, and his HUD had been failing.

  
“Too busy having a brush with death.” Tony said, sitting with the laptop and going through files of previous HUD footage. “Jarvis? Did absolutely anything save from that trip?”

  
“I lost contact with you, sir.” Jarvis replied, and Jane jumped.

  
“Jane, this is Jarvis, my better half.” Tony said. “He runs Stark tower among many other things.”

  
“I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Foster.” Jarvis replied. “And at this part, sir, I’m roughly your better quarter, unless Miss Potts and I add up to your better half, but the math still stands.”

  
“Smart ass.” Tony snorted. “Do we have footage for that or not?”

  
“Given we lost contact and the damage of the suit we were not able to recover much from the onboard drives.” Jarvis replied. “And what I do have is badly damaged, however…” A few badly static pictures showed up on the screen, then enhanced, showing the fleet and behind, a looming strange starscape.

  
Tony rubbed his face and stepped away. “That what you need?”

  
“You’re amazing Tony.” She replied, getting out a thumb drive and looking at the laptop for a long second before plugging it in.

  
“Well, yeah.” He folded his arms and looked helplessly at Bruce, who smiled sympathetically and patted one of his shoulders. “So, what else to discuss?”

  
“I guess now it’s your choice.” She replied, watching Jarvis port the information to her thumb drive and arrange everything neatly.

  
“Dangerous.” Tony smiled a bit. “Okay.” And he rolled out the mat, connecting to the laptop.

* * *

 

The balcony of the hotel room had a chaise lounge, and that’s where Loki and Pepper found themselves. Loki had shrugged into one of his button down shirts once Pepper had judged the lotion to be fully soaked in, leaving it open though and relaxing in the chaise with Pepper on top of him, situated to lay on her side with her legs between his, cheek resting on his chest. He found it a more than agreeable pose, head tilted back and arms wrapped around her, just quietly breathing together.

  
“You’ve made me curious to know a bit more about this agreement that you and Tony have.” Loki said after an unknown amount of time. “After all, what little I know is what you told me months ago. It seems a bit out of pace with the rest of this realm.”

  
“It is.” Pepper admitted, not moving from where she was or bothering to open her eyes. “Well, really it all started with Tony. He was famously a slut, and admits to it. He’s been in and out of the tabloids since he was twenty, for sex parties and who knows what else, and never really hid his bisexuality. Eventually the news just got tired of him and it became just general fact. Written off as another one of his long list of character flaws. I’ve been working for him for years, I basically managed him.”

  
“That must have taken time and effort.” Loki’s fingers stroked lightly between her shoulder blades. He didn’t bother bringing up the fact that his personal wanderings had somehow become legends. Not all of which were true, but the point stood.

  
“It did, but it was also weirdly satisfying when he actually listened. Eventually everything changed.”

  
“His trial by fire.”

  
“Yes.” She paused. “The thing is, he’d long figured out something about himself before that. Tony is poly. He generally won’t use those terms, he doesn’t really do feelings. He really struggles with monogamy. But he tried, for me. We’ve never entirely been public about our relationship but hey, we were happy in our own way.”

  
“So what changed then?” Loki nuzzled the top of her head. When she shifted and looked at him, he shrugged. “It is not as if Tony is ever going to talk to me about this.”

  
“He will eventually but it’ll be on his schedule, and probably far past when he should have said it.” She replied, sighing and smiling. “I finally spoke to him before all the Avengers events went down. He tried to deny it but I can read him like an open book most days. He’s not subtle.”

  
“Well that we can agree on.” He smirked.

  
“Tony’s happy spot is being in the middle of a dogpile on a bed. He likes to sleep on people or the other way around.” She shrugged. “And I’m not poly, exactly, and there’s no way in hell I’ll ever have his level of experience in fucking around… literally… but I like threesomes. So I said, okay, can we keep it to three? And I broke him. Took him about five minutes to get around to answering me and at that point it was a question of rules and quality control. To my utter shock, he didn’t have a list of people to call up, because anyone he’d known from before suddenly didn’t meet his standards.”

  
“Don’t tell me I’m the first one since that discussion.”

  
“Mm. No. There were a few one night arrangements, and a weekender, but no one either of us really wanted to keep. After the Avengers he went out of his way to adopt the whole group and oh yeah, he had ulterior motives, just not what they ever suspected. He’s still really sad about Bruce, but I think he’s finally trying to move on.”

  
Loki tilted his head back again and turned it, staring at the impossibly blue Malibu sky and listening to the ocean and trying to grasp what he’d just been told, in not so many words.

  
“You were… unexpected.” Pepper finally said, fingers idly tracing a few inches of his collarbone, back and forth. “And I wrote you off as another weekender, at first. Then something changed, I’m not even sure when or why, and about the time we were sitting at the blues concert together I realized that we were going to have a hard time giving you back. And it’s not just the sex, you know. You have issues, but under that is someone we care for. And you’re going to have a hard time escaping us, now.”

  
He pulled her up a bit, nuzzling into her and smiling when it turned into a kiss, gentle and with a bit of that fire he’d come to expect from Pepper Potts, letting the embrace ease back into them nuzzled together. When, exactly, had he become the exclusive property of two Midgardians? And he was curiously content about it. Tony and Pepper were safe, to him, both were going out of their way to protect him from the fading anger of the rest of their world. They’d taken him in and held him tight and made him realize, nearly by force, that Loki Laufeyson, neither Asgard nor Jotunn, was not alone if he did not want to be.

  
“I’m not going anywhere.” He finally said. “I would be a fool to walk away from my chance at happiness on this world.”

  
Pepper settled back against him with a sigh and a smile, and they relaxed there together for a while before she blinked and sat up. “Oh, wait a moment.” She stepped back into the hotel room, and he looked after her curiously, watching her return a few moments later with two bottles of water and his e-reader, putting the bottles on the little table that was next to the chaise and handing him the e-reader, returning to her previous pose. “Read to me.”

  
He snickered in spite of himself, turning the device on. “Read to you?”

  
“You have a great voice. What are you working on?”

  
“Bruce recommended a series of books to me. Very light, fictional, by an author named Pratchett.”

  
“Sir Pratchett is always a good choice.” She replied, smiling and snuggling in, wrapping one arm around him under the open silk shirt.

  
He shifted so he could both hold her and comfortably hold the e-reader, smiling uncontrollably. “Carrot was not stupid. He was direct, and honest, and good-natured and honorable in all his dealings. In Ankh-Morpork this would normally have added up to “stupid” in any case and would have given him the survival quotient of a jellyfish in a box furnace, but there were a couple other factors. One was a punch that even trolls had learned to respect. The other was that Carrot was genuinely, almost supernaturally, likable.” He paused, then glanced down at her. “This character reminds me of Steve.”

  
Pepper laughed.

* * *

 

Thor eventually came and found Jane in the conference room, where the lights had been turned down by half so the wireframes and laptop were easier to see.

  
“Can I join you?” Thor wanted to know, standing in the doorway and smiling in at them.

  
“Yeah, of course.” Bruce replied, smiling. “We’re actually kind of winding down at this point.”

  
“Far too many good ideas that I am currently not allowed to build.” Tony sighed and sat back.

  
“I still can’t believe someone specifically banned you from making holes in space-time.” Jane giggled. She’d taken over at the laptop, after finding she actually really liked Jarvis. “Thor, Tony has the best toys.”

  
“Indeed he does!” Thor sat down at the table.

  
“I have enough problems with the government.” Tony replied to Jane. “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is doing an inspection at the tower this week. Happily, they aren’t inspecting me as well.”

  
“Finally classified you as a medical device?” Bruce wanted to know.

  
“Yeah, that was a hell of an argument.” He snorted.

  
“What’s this?” Thor reached out and pulled one of the wire frames over to him, looking at it.

  
“Oh, I was working on that while they were talking space.” Tony replied. “I’m trying to design a combat weapon for your brother.”

  
Thor lifted an eyebrow. “I would very much enjoy fighting beside my brother again. I might have a few suggestions to offer.”

  
“I might need them. Hopefully when we get back to the Tower I can get him into the lab and we can just start practical testing. I’m going to have to make a bunch of staves with different disconnects and put them through some trials to see what will hold up best and that’s just for starters. And honestly? Armor’s giving me more trouble. He’s not bulletproof anymore. Putting him into something functional that won’t mess up his dexterity?” Tony rattled his fingers on the table, staring off. “But hell, I went through all sorts of shit designing the first Ironman suit.”

  
“I’m happy you’re willing to spend some time with him on this.” He sighed, smiling ruefully. “He seems… better. Like something unseen inside him is starting to heal. I still do not know how I wronged him, what made that banked fire in him burn so bright. I am just hoping he’ll tell me, soon. But at least he is talking to me.”

  
“Any progress is good progress, especially with his issues, but my take on it is this. If his issues make him want to be praised, revered, loved, whatever, let’s just give him that.” Tony shrugged, smiling when Thor lifted an eyebrow. “Let’s just let him run with us, and let’s not totally hide his issues. Because there’s a lot of people out there who are broken. Would do them some good to see someone making the most of it.”

  
Thor tilted his head. “Man of Iron, I have always found your logic curious, but I like this idea.”

  
“I’ve been kind of curious how this is going to work out.” Jane said, looking up from the laptop. “I’m not sure what to think of him, but then I was kind of there in Arizona when Thor arrived and everything happened.”

  
Tony shrugged.

  
The door opened again, this time Steve standing there, looking in at them. “Oh, am I interrupting?”

  
“No, come on in, I think we’re done for now anyway. What have you been up to?”

  
He replied by throwing Tony a shirt. “Clint Natasha and I took one of the cars and did some looking around. Found that by chance.”

  
He caught it and shook it out, first noticing that someone had actually remembered his size, then looking at the actual print on it. Basic black, with two words printed on the front in red. Love Infinite. “Well. This will certainly confuse the hell out of the press.”  
Steve laughed.

* * *

 

Pepper went in to work the next day, saying she was going to straighten out what had once been headquarters and was still the center of a lot of R&D and manufacturing. This left Tony and Loki on their own, to sleep in, not quite snuggled together because Loki’s burns stung. Tony was starting to feel like a dick for not attempting to interrupt Loki to put some sunblock on, in spite of past experiences that had taught him never to interrupt practicing coworkers if it could be avoided.

  
“Hate to tell you but the shower is going to hurt.” Tony finally said, leaning back against the bathroom counter and watching Loki, then shaking his head when Loki shrugged it off, the yelp of pain echoing ten seconds later.

  
“Curse, curse, CURSE your star!” Loki howled, huddled away from the water.

  
Tony sighed, turned the water temperature down, and got in with him, and helped him deal with the burns afterwards, rubbing the aloe lotion in and smiling at the sighs of pleasure his touch eventually got. “It’ll get better. And now you know.”  
Loki was sitting straddling the chair backwards, propping himself on the back of it to brace against Tony’s hands, hair pulled around to keep it out of the way. “Will I ever understand this world?”

  
“You’ll catch on.” Tony shrugged. It was now more a massage than getting ointment onto Loki, though it was working to actually rub it in. “And you’re actually adapting very well, considering.”

  
“Mm.”  
“I’m starting in on weapons design for you. You’re going to have to help me out though.”

  
“Really?” He looked at the shorter man over his shoulder.

  
“Well, I’m assuming you want to keep using that breakdown staff. You seem to like it.”

  
“Yes, I do. Jarvis said it was a whimsy of his. I think he should be whimsical more often.” He let his head hang a bit again as his spine was rubbed over. “Any excuse to touch me, Stark?”

  
“I don’t hear you complaining.” Tony smiled, because Loki using his last name wasn’t impersonal, it was an attention getter of sorts. “I told you the first time you visited, touch is one of the ways I figure things out.”

  
“I remember.” He thought back to the things Pepper told him yesterday. “And have you figured me out?”

  
“Not nearly.” Tony’s teeth grazed one of his ears, then he pulled away when his phone started chirping, sighing and stepping across the room to pick it up and hit one of the buttons. “Go, Jarvis.”

  
“Dr. Snitz’s airplane has just touched down, sir.” Jarvis replied. “A driver has already been arranged for her, she should be at your hotel within the hour.”

  
“That woman.” Loki huffed, standing up from where he was straddling the chair, in a pair of designer jeans and nothing else. His continual refusal to even consider the concept of underwear was one of many things that drove both Tony and Pepper quietly up the wall, in a good way.

  
“Yeah, I know.” Tony pulled on the shirt Steve had gotten him the day before. “I’ve never been to therapy but this seems like a really shitty way to come around to it.”

  
“The medicine seems to be working. Why do I have to see her?” He paced, head tilted back.

  
“Are you feeling better?”

  
“Yes, and no. There are times I can … let go. Relax. And there are times when I feel like I am watching myself fray. Disconcerting.” He shook his head.

  
“Well, let’s see if we can get something to eat before she gets here.”

* * *

 

Annette huffed as the car pulled into the drive of the hotel, staring at it. She managed to thank the driver before getting out, grabbing her rolling suitcase and briefcase, heels clicking as she walked into the building. Getting a phone call from Tony Stark’s computer, not the man himself, had been off-putting and almost insultingly impersonal. Though Stark’s computer seemed to actually be a nice person, if that was at all a thing. It had set up her flight and her driver, and somehow gotten her a room at the same hotel.

  
And she knew it was far from professional, but she wanted to wring Tony Stark’s neck. Not an uncommon reaction to the man from what she’d read. She’d spent a lot of time in his files, and the files of the other Avengers, and reading what every little they had on Loki Laufeyson. Or Loki Odinson. They clearly had a lot to talk about.

  
She found Tony Stark in the lobby, eating donut holes, wearing what looked like designer jeans and a plain t-shirt (did it say ‘Love Infinite’? seriously?!), and Converse chucks of all damn things. None of this did anything to soothe her mood. “You. What the hell are you thinking?”

  
“Good morning?” He hazarded, blinking at her.

  
She huffed again. “You have a mental health patient in your care, barely into treatment, and you uproot him from the one place he feels safe?”

  
“I asked if he wanted to come, he did.” He shrugged, leading her through the hotel. She checked in quickly then followed him. “He’s not a child you know, I trust him to make his own decisions and to tell me what he needs.”

  
She narrowed her eyes at him as they got on the elevator. “How’s he been?”

  
“Mostly good. He’s actually been getting along with his brother.” Tony was still eating his donut holes. “Sunburned. I guess that’s not an issue on Asgard.”

  
“He been taking his meds?”

  
“Yes.”

  
“He happy I’m here?”

  
“Nope.” And Tony was walking down the hallway, getting a room key out of his pocket.

  
“You have a key to his room?”

  
“He sleeps with Pepper and I.”

  
That brought her up short. “Excuse me, what?”

  
Tony gave her a look over his shoulder that translated to ‘you heard me,’ and the gaze was so smug she wanted to wring his neck. Again. But he was carding the door open and stepping into the room, holding the door for her. “Hey, man.”

  
Loki was on the balcony, but stepped in when Tony called, wearing a similar outfit to what she’d first seen him in, more designer jeans and a blood red button down shirt, probably silk. He looked pensive, uneasy, and tried to ignore her, looking at Tony. “How is this going to work?”

  
“Well, this is kind of private so I’m going to go check on my house.” He shoved his phone in his pocket. “You need me, for any reason, let Jarvis know.” He flicked a hand at the laptop. “I drop everything, and come running.”

  
Loki nodded, and Tony left again, leaving them in the hotel’s living area staring at each other. After a moment he stepped back and flopped on the couch, sprawling on a corner and propping his forehead on his fingertips, looking at her from under his brows and waiting. It was an oddly disconcerting look, but she worked for SHIELD, she’d seen worse, so she sighed and set everything aside, pulling a chair to sit across from him.

  
“Listen. I know you’re not happy about this. This is not how therapy should be set up, let alone happen.”

  
“This is a condition of me remaining in Stark Tower. Nothing more, or less.” Loki replied.

  
She sighed, getting a bottle of water out of her briefcase, considering her words. “I owe you an apology.” When he lifted an eyebrow, she continued. “I didn’t realize that Director Fury was going to assign me to be your therapist. If I had known that, my assessment of you would have been carried out far differently. I was brought in for a threat assessment, not continuing treatment. So, I am sorry.”

  
“I did not enjoy it.”

  
“I know. You had no idea.” She paused. “No, I think you had some idea.”

  
“Mm. I had suspicions. Being so different from everyone else, but then I discovered I was in fact a different race entirely, under glamour. That rather explained it, I thought.” He watched her. “You’re used to your own kind.”

  
“Well, there’s not a whole lot of call for continuing therapy of Asgardians.” She was droll. “And there’s not a whole lot of information on you, and most of it is parsed from other parties.”

  
“That must be amusing to read then.” He snickered.

  
“Listen. This only works if you want it to. If you are engaged in it. Otherwise, it’s pointless.”

  
“I don’t see how sitting here, talking to a woman who saw fit to take apart my mind with words like knives, is going to do me any good.” Loki blew out a sigh. “I don’t see how talking is supposed to help at all in the first place. Medicine I understand, but mere words?”

  
“It’s the same philosophy as ‘shared joy is doubled, shared pain halved.’” She took a drink of her water, watching him. She’d seen a flash of what was potentially the “real” Loki when she’d walked in, then he’d closed up tighter than a steel trap. This was all masks, flash, hiding, but if what little she read was correct he’d literally spent his whole life in a body not quite his. Double speak, lies, manipulation, evasion, these all came natural to him, but talking to Tony Stark he was plain, nothing hid. And certainly now Loki’s words seemed honest enough, but his expression, his face were totally shut to her. She’d gotten in past all that before, but she’d hurt him in the process. This needed to open up on its own this time. “The mind can hide things from itself. Manipulate itself, lock itself in a maze. The idea of therapy is it’s someone to lead you out of the maze, or show you what you hide from yourself.”

  
He hadn’t moved, just staring at her with absolutely serpentine green eyes. His eye color had changed, she realized with a start, it wasn’t just her perception. “I already told you. I have to do this. I have no choice.”

  
“Actually, yes you do.” She watched his eyebrow lift again, and this time something just barely changed behind it. “I’m your doctor. If I can’t help you, I will find you a doctor who can. Who you can talk to. All I ask is you give me one chance and see how we do.”

  
Loki stared at her for a long, silent moment, then sat up fully from his slouch. “Fine. I do not trust you, far from it… but I find myself willing to do as you suggest.”

  
She smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” She glanced at her open briefcase, where the files sat, the one on top bearing Loki’s name, and closed it. “Let’s just start simply then. How have you liked Malibu?”

* * *

 

Tony had asked Happy to bring one of his cars by. Most of his cars had moved with him to New York, but the space problem had led him to leave a few behind in Malibu. He’d whined to Pepper for a week about it, but she wasn’t willing to give him half the parking the building had for staff just to house his entire collection when he was apt to lock himself in his labs for days at a time and not be driving during that. So it was a relief to have one of the cars he’d been missing. This one was a Ferrari 458 Italia, and he put on his sunglasses and hammered the gas, letting himself race through the roads he’d been missing.

  
He took the longest route possible to get back to his old house, dodging through traffic, music turned up. Old habits, very old habits, easy to let himself fall into, passing cops without a care in the fucking world because he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had pulled over one of his cars with the STARK license plate. At one point in his life this kind of driving would have heralded a pissed off Pepper, or Rhodey, at the end of his ride, because he was late again, because he’d forgotten something again. Because Tony Stark and responsibility didn’t necessarily belong in the same sentence.

  
Well they still didn’t usually, but how things changed.

  
Eventually he pulled up to his house and got out of the car, staring up at it. It hadn’t changed since he’d last seen it, still perfectly kept up, though obviously standing almost entirely empty now. Probably some kind of maintenance crew was dealing with it at Pepper’s behest. He sighed and key coded into the house, walking in, and ended up slowly pacing through, walking familiar paths.

  
It was perfect. He couldn’t see the scars from the fights, from his testing the first Iron Man suits. It was still furnished, partly, and he had a moment of quiet horror staring at one of the sofas. It wasn’t the same one, but it was the same style, and he put a hand over his arc reactor, remembering being helpless and terrified and heartbroken and betrayed as one of the men who fucking raised him removed the reactor will full intent of killing him.

  
And now it was easy to remember why he’d barely thought twice about going to New York. Good things had happened in his house. And terrible things. And it was the terrible things that got to him, haunted him, dogged his steps. The third or fourth time Pepper had found him on the ground, lost in PTSD, lost in dark places, she’d made the call that he needed out. For good.

  
New York, with its shit traffic and shit roads but a new building, no bad memories, something he could design from the ground up and make into a new image for the company, and the attacks had just made it a center for good memories. The place where his friends were.

  
He was outside, getting some air and talking to Jarvis, when he heard another car coming up the road.

  
“We need to sell this house.” He was saying, fingers steepled and leaning his forehead against them for a moment. “There’s not a lot left here. It’s of no use right now.”

  
“I can make the proper inquiries and put it to Pepper, sir.”

  
“Tell her it’s being sold. This is not an option. If we need a residence out here we will pick up a different house. I can’t be here anymore.” He lowered the phone and looked up when he heard a car door slam, and took the path back down to the driveway, grinning when he saw who was there. “Rhodey!”

  
“Stark, what in the fuck?” Rhodes replied, and met him halfway, clapping his back, grinning. “It’s been forever, man!”

  
“I know, I’m sorry.” Tony replied honestly, feeling the shadows that were following him disappear, neatly annihilated by possibly the oldest friend he had.

  
“Nah, don’t be. A little’s fine, but I know you’re caught up with SHIELD half the time and trying to reinvent the world the other half.” Rhodes grinned. “I saw that rocket on wheels pass me and I knew you had to be back in town. What brings you back to Malibu?”

  
“Business meeting, now just knocking around for a while. Tell me you’re free for dinner, because I’m here with some people you just have to meet, I’m not even kidding.” They’d walked back to the cars, leaning back against the Ferrari as they talked.  
“Would this be Captain America and company?” Rhodey lifted an eyebrow. “The people you roll with now, Tony.”

  
“Yeah, tell me about it.” He snickered. “I think I get a pass on Captain America though, my dad made him, mostly.”

  
“Yeah because that’s not creepy.” But Rhodey was grinning. “I got stuck watching most of that shit in New York on the TV because SHIELD was like no, you can’t get involved.”

  
“All I’m going to tell you is, if you get a chance to fly a live nuke into space…”

  
“Pass?”

  
“Pass.” Tony laughed. “Things are changing but honestly it’s all good man.”

  
“Really, now. Got time for a drink?”

  
“Sure. Just one though.”

  
Rhodey lifted an eyebrow at him. “Things are changing.”

  
“Most of them for the better. We’re not drinking here though. I guess if you don’t have a better idea we can hit the bar at my hotel.”

  
“Which one? Malibu Beach Inn?” He grinned when Tony did. “Hell, yes. Lead the way and try not to ditch me on the way there, you still drive like a bat out of hell.”

  
“No promises.”


	11. Chapter 11

They were sitting outside on the boardwalk hours later, Rhodey on his third beer and Tony’s empty glass long spirited away in exchange for soda, when Loki appeared, walking outside in bare feet and claiming the seat on the wood bench next to Tony. Rhodes watched this with a lifted eyebrow.

  
“Did you know I can hear your current car over a kilometer away when it’s approaching?” Loki lifted an eyebrow.

  
Tony laughed. “Well you’re learning to drive it tomorrow so don’t complain too much. Rhodey, this is Loki Laufeyson, Thor’s brother. He got kicked out of the house so I’m giving him a hand up. Loki, this is James Rhodes. He’s my oldest friend. Hell for a long time he was nearly my only friend.”

  
Loki leaned and reached around Tony to offer a hand to Rhodes, who took it and shook it cheerfully. “Kicked out of the house huh? Rough.”

  
“Well, off an entire planet really.” Loki managed a smile.

  
“When the Asgardians have family drama, they have family drama.” Tony said.

  
“Uh huh.” Rhodey said, still eyeballing Loki. He’d already come to the conclusion the new guy was something other than human anyway, which at first was a bit odd, but then given what Tony was running around with these day he’d already braced for a storm of weird shit. That and humans didn’t have eyes like that without contacts and this guy’s eyes were fine. Creepy sharp actually. “So, banging aliens now?”

  
Tony choked and spat out soda, leaning on his knees and laughing wildly even as he tried to clear his airway. Loki settled on lifting an eyebrow. “Fucking hell, Rhodey.” Tony giggled. “I just got this up my nose.”

  
“You’ve had worse up your nose.” Rhodes replied. “How are you not dead, really.”

  
“Not helping.”

  
“Your new friend not denying it isn’t helping your case.”

  
“I don’t feel like denying the truth right now.” Loki replied, without a care in the world. “You obviously know your friend’s nature and it obviously doesn’t bother you, so why deny it?”

  
Tony was still slumped forward, leaning on his knees, so Rhodey looked at Loki over Tony’s back. “So you are an alien.”

  
“Well, now we’re getting into definitions. Technically I am now physically Midgardian, of your people, in any way that really matters. But that’s a recent change. I am, or I was, of Asgard, but not, because I am actually Jotunn, frost giant.” Loki wove a hand in a dismissive way. “As Stark has said, it is family drama.”

  
Rhodey blinked once, then looked at Tony. “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into now?”

  
“All sorts of fun shit.” Tony replied, shaking off and sitting up fully, grinning though. “Wait until you’ll meet the others. You’ll like them.”

  
“Ho, boy, I’ve heard that before.”

* * *

 

Tony wasn’t all that surprised when, over dinner, Rhodey cheerfully turned the whole conversation into “the Seven Labors of knowing Tony Stark.” And he didn’t even care, because he remembered most of it and was able to contest details. Like for example that when Rhodey got wasted on sake you could shove a naked gorgeous woman in his face and he wouldn’t notice because we need to talk FEELINGS, man.

  
Either way, he did a lot of self-depreciating laughter and he didn’t really mind. His friends had all declared open season on his ego anyway and that was only fair because he returned the favor in spades. And it was incredibly fun to watch his oldest friend actually getting along with his newest ones. That was a relief really, even if it was on the starting basis that they all agreed he was a pain in the ass.

  
Also, Rhodey managed to bond with Thor, and of all people, Clint. So that was fun to watch.

  
“I think this is the quietest I’ve seen you in a while.” Pepper said, leaning over a bit to talk to him.

  
“I am capable of shutting up and watching on occasion.” He replied, grinning.

  
“Then usually you’re dogpiling in and demanding attention.” Loki said, quirking an eyebrow.

  
Pepper and Tony both looked at him, Pepper’s mouth quirked to one side and Tony grinning. “I take it therapy went better than you expected?”

  
“She’s still a witch of the mind but she is a tolerable witch.” He replied. “She asked me to thank you for the hotel room and expense account.”

  
Tony snorted. “Right.”

  
“This is what I’m talking about. What the fuck did you guys do to him to make him this quiet?” Rhodey was suddenly saying, gesturing at Tony.

  
“Well, since you’re complaining about me being quiet.” He shoved his long empty plate away, glad this particular restaurant had just opened one of the private rooms for them to dine in. “I have some stories I could tell about you. Pepper, help me out here where should I start? Anywhere in particular?”

  
“Keep me out of this.” She laughed.

  
“My choice in stories then, awesome.”

  
“Tony, I know what you’re thinking and don’t you even go there.” Rhodey replied.

  
“Oh, no, it is far too late for that…”

* * *

 

Loki jerked awake, blinking in the early morning light. Pepper had left not long ago, he remembered her sliding off from where she’d ended up asleep on both of them, getting ready for her day and kissing them both goodbye, to his smile and Tony’s barely awake purr of affection.

  
And now Tony was on the far end of the bed, curled up in a tight shaking ball, breathing shot and making a small, shattered noise low in his throat. Loki pushed across the bed and pulled him in, holding him and feeling him shake and not quite acknowledge him. “Tony. Tony, wake up.” It took a lot of strength to get the shorter man to roll over to face him, and it also made him realize this wasn’t a nightmare, Tony was awake and gone.

  
Dark places. Tony had told him he was sick too, and he understood what Loki meant about being brought back from dark places.

  
One of Tony’s arms was locked over his chest, over the reactor, but Loki got his hand between it and Tony’s arm and pushed, cradling it with his palm and watching Stark jerk, eyes flying open and staring at him, barely seeing for a second then registering who he was looking at. “Loki?”

  
“You are in Malibu and you are safe.” Loki said as evenly as he could. “I don’t know where you were, but it was not real.”

  
Tony shoved away and staggered to the bathroom, and Loki ended up leaning next to the doorway, brow drawn together and listening to the other man be violently sick for several minutes. Then the toilet flushed at Tony was sitting on the floor with the back to the wall, hugging himself, staring at the ceiling with blank eyes. Loki shifted to crouch next to him, waiting silently.

  
“That… hasn’t happened in a while.” Tony finally said. “Not that bad, at least. I get nightmares sometimes but I was there, Loki.”

  
He went down to his knees and wrapped his arms around Tony, swallowing hard at the scent of sweat and terror on the Tony’s skin and the shaking of his arms when the grip was returned. “What can I do?” Loki wanted to know, and when he got no response leaned back again. Stark looked old, world weary, patched together and burned up inside. “Stay put. Just… I’ll be right back.” Please don’t do anything stupid in the next minute, Loki prayed, grabbing his room key and heading out the door, not caring that he was only in a pair of exercise shorts, sprinting down the hall and skidding on the carpet in front of what he hoped was the right door, pounding hard on it for several minutes and eventually awarded by a sleepy, disheveled Annette Snitz in a robe and several angry neighbors sticking their heads out of their rooms.

  
“Loki, what…?” She wanted to know, tying the robe over an oversized shirt and trying to wake up.

  
“I need you to help Tony.” He replied. “Please. I know you’re not his doctor but something happened.”

  
She blinked, then stepped away and got her room key, sticking it in her pocket and following him back down the long hallway. “What happened?”

  
“I don’t know. I woke up and he was… somewhere bad. I’m not sure he’s actually back.” Loki replied, carding into the room and stepping in, holding the door. “He’s told me a little but I’ve never seen him like this and Pepper’s gone to work.”

  
She nodded, trying to switch modes. Loki’s near panic was real. She’d read Stark’s file, but she hadn’t paid much attention to him besides finding him utterly frustrating. He wasn’t who she was trying to diagnose after all, and his file already was plastered in red flags. That said, when Loki stepped into the bathroom and half carried, half led Tony out, she was slightly aghast, and moved to help Loki shift him to the couch, thanking all her lucky stars that neither of these men slept nude.

  
“Curious choice in backup.” Tony finally said, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, breathing still ragged.

  
“Anyone else would have probably just called Pepper.” Loki replied. “I almost did, I will later, but…”

  
“Triage.” Tony said. “You can’t call her if you don’t know what’s wrong and how bad it is.”

  
“Well, yes.”

  
Annette dug into the hotel’s mini fridge, pressing a bottle of water into Tony’s hands. “Are you on any medication?”

  
He opened it and shook his head. “No. I smoke sometimes. It shuts it down.”

  
“Did you drink a lot last night?”

  
“Had two with dinner. I’m cutting back.” He didn’t think about what he was saying or who he was talking to, sagging against Loki when the taller man sat next to him. Pepper actually had “jump started” him like Loki did before, when she couldn’t get through by talking to him. Putting pressure on the arc reactor sent a not-unpleasant shock down his spine and if he wasn’t expecting it, it made him nearly jump out of his skin. Pepper usually just ended up holding him on the floor and talking about something else, pulling him out of darkness by showing a light. And now he felt like shit for not telling Loki more about this…

  
Annette ended up sitting on the coffee table in front of him, leaning to look him in the eyes. “You triggered and you had a flash back. Yes?”

  
“Yes.” He downed some of the water then cradled his head in his hands again. “That fucking house…”

  
“Do you want to talk about it?” She sent the question in on tiptoes, not surprised when he looked at her between his fingers. “Yes, I know, Ironman doesn’t need therapy, Ironman doesn’t smoke as a way of self-medicating, Ironman is just fine. You aren’t.”

  
Tony bit back a lot of swearing, what would have turned into an angry screaming tirade because FUCK YOU LADY that’s why, feeling bile crawl up his throat a bit again and drinking more water to try to tamp it down, rubbing his eyes. Trying to remember what Pepper always said to push his heart rate down. Not looking forward to calling her and pulling her out of god knows what meeting to tell her that her broken genius boyfriend was coming out of another mental health episode.

  
And Annette sat there and watched him flick through rage and sorrow and pain, and sag further into Loki’s arms, but not closing up, not blocking either of them out. “Tony?”

  
“I don’t talk about this. I barely told Rhodey about it and he rescued me. I barely spoke to Pepper about it and she’d had to deal with this for a while now.” He replied. “I don’t talk about this.”

  
_Afghanistan Yinsen that fucking car battery torture Yinsen had he ever told anyone about Yinsen Obadiah’s terrible satisfied predator stare like he was just a machine to be switched off when it was troublesome… Obadiah who had orchestrated everything and had tried to kill him, repeatedly, remorseless… laughed about it, during it…_

  
“The man who helped raise me and run my company pulled my reactor out of my fucking chest and left me to die in my own house.” The words came out. There. Out. “I went back there yesterday. It isn’t something I think about, it feels like a long time ago and a lot of shit has happened since then but being in that room…”

  
And it all came out, the cards hitting the table hard, feeling Loki’s tight grip because the taller man hadn’t known the backstory either. And the hard part for Tony was that he’d caused it all. He was the source of his own collapse. He’d never showed due consideration to Obadiah and it’d come back as fury and poison. He’d designed weapons and gotten shrapnel in his chest of his own design, scraps of metal he’d always carry. He’d engineered his own trial by fire through ignorance and arrogance and self-centered righteousness. Tony Stark, expert in self destruction.

  
And now being in the best place he had ever been, his whole life, being someone that maybe he could be proud of someday, that maybe his father would have actually respected, and still not reaching escape velocity from what had happened to him. And fearing he never would.

  
And sitting in a fucking high end hotel in Malibu as the morning sun came in off the balcony, blinding, sitting in the arms of a recovering wannabe super villain he’d come to trust as much as his probably still sleeping friends. And they barely knew any of this either. Bruce knew the technical side, Tony had showed him how the reactor worked and how to swap it out for sheer safety. But hey, Loki was probably just as broken if not a hell of a lot more broken than he was. What was it, two lost ships on a stormy sea, one with no sails and one with no rudder?

  
Eventually he let his voice trail out, a sentence he couldn’t finish dying, eyes shutting and focusing on his breathing. At some point his hands had clasped in front of him, and Loki’s doctor had a hand resting on them, just silent reassurance. And Loki, who’d shifted to sit and hold him from behind, hands laced together over Tony’s arc reactor like a shield.

  
“Tony. Where are you?” Annette finally said, keeping her hands resting on his, feeling the vibration trembling through his arms.

  
“I, uh. Malibu.” He shook off a bit, pulling a hand free to rub his eyes and taking a deep breath.

  
“Where are you?”

  
“Malibu.” He repeated.

  
“Where in Malibu are you?” She said it slowly.

  
He blinked and actually took stock of where he was for a long moment. “In the hotel.” Not the house. Never the house again.

  
“Who is here with you?”

  
“Loki. Peppper, she’s at work.” He swallowed, closing his eyes again, still not wanting to call her and tell her he fell apart again. “Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Thor, and Jane.”

  
“Why are they here?”

  
“I don’t know.” That came out unbidden. Because he was offering because he flashed out money on them because he spoiled them.

  
“Because we love you.” Loki’s voice was barely there, arms tightening on him slightly, and Tony’s mind slid to a halt, the grinding gears in the back of his head locking up in a cascade. He tried to jerk away, and Loki held tighter, cradling him, not letting him leave.

  
“I…”

  
“Because we love you.” Loki’s voice was firm now. “Don’t run away from me, Stark. Do not run away from us. You pulled me back, let me return the favor. Let us return the favor, and know that if we could slay the dragons in your past, the monsters who found you wanting, we would.”

  
He swallowed hard, burying his face back into his hands and trying to find the armor he always wore, the humor and jibes and ability to take nothing seriously, and wasn’t able to. He wanted to shrug this off, and he couldn’t.

  
Loki looked at Annette over Tony’s shoulder, grateful because he could feel Tony unwinding in his arms, slowly, the tension slipping away and the shaking start to fade, and blinked when she visibly blanched, standing up and stepping away from them both, opening one of the balcony doors to let the sound of the ocean in. It was a cool day, and she stood there a moment, closing her eyes and trying not to think about the fact that her actual patient had been looking at her with calm, thankful bright red eyes. Solid red eyes until he’d blinked and it was gone just that fast. It was time to go back to SHIELD and demand anything and everything they had on Asgard and Jotunn.

  
“There is nothing wrong with defending and hiding.” She finally said, looking over her shoulder. Tony was calming down, finally checked fully back in with reality, pulled out of the dark cave that haunted him. Loki was still holding him, tight and possessive, hands still laced over the reactor in Tony’s chest. “Just be sure you remember where you are, and realize there are other people defending you as well.” She stepped back over, looking down at them. “And there is nothing wrong with seeking help, either.”

  
“I don’t know how.” That also came out of Tony’s mouth unbidden.

  
“Well, the good thing is, I think it’s going to seek you out.” She looked at Loki, who had his cheek resting against one of Tony’s shoulder blades, expression worried and soulful. “Just don’t push it away when it’s offered.” She watched Tony nod. “I have a flight, early this afternoon. Do you want me to get it moved?”

  
“No, don’t let me fuck up your schedule. I’m not your client after all.” Tony managed a half smile. “Thanks.”

  
“It’s my job… and I’m not the one you should be thanking.” She sighed. “See you next week, Loki.” When he nodded, she left the room, feeling for the card in her robe pocket and sighing. After a reasonable therapy session with Laufeyson, during which she actually felt like they’d gotten somewhere, like it was going to work out just fine, she hadn’t expected anything else to happen. Why would she have? When someone pounded on her door, she’d figured the obvious. And instead, got to try to help a broken, sad Tony Stark, and now felt no malice toward the man. No, now she just felt pity.

  
Back in the hotel room, Loki pulled Tony up and drug him back to bed, pushing him down and rolling after him so they ended up laying on their side facing each other. Loki laced their hands together and looked at him, and Tony looked back, embarrassed and a bit withdrawn.

  
“I’m sorry. I should have told you.” Tony finally said.

  
“Do not dare apologize.” Loki nuzzled into the backs of Tony’s hands, kissing one of them. Tony sighed and managed a real smile, pushing closer and lying with Loki for some time before they realized they should really call Pepper and tell her. And that they should consider getting up out of bed, eventually.

* * *

 

Pepper was between meetings when her phone chirped, that particular sound that was only used by Jarvis, so she picked up, moving to stand and look out the window of what had once been her office. “Go ahead, Jarvis.”

  
“Miss Potts, Mr. Laufeyson is wondering if you have five minutes to speak privately.”

  
She blinked at the phone. “Of course I do. Tell him he can call.” Then Black Sabbath’s ‘I am Ironman’ was ringing on her phone. Because that’s what Tony’s ringtone was if you had a Stark phone. Everyone had tried to change it, it changed back. Master of subtle, he was. She smiled anyway and picked up, leaving it on speakerphone. “Loki?”

  
“Hey, Pepper.”

  
She froze up. “What’s wrong?”

  
“Tony, uh. Had a moment.” He struggled for words, sitting on the couch, keeping half an eye on the bathroom door. He’d agreed to make the call while Tony showered but it was still hard to talk about. “A flashback of some kind. He’s out of it now but we thought we should tell you.”

  
She cupped her face in her hands, going through her mental calendar and counting months back. It’d been a long time since Tony had had an episode. They’d both been hoping he’d worked his way past it. Shit, shit, shit. “Is he okay?”

  
“Yes. I went and got my doctor, she got him talking. He’s better, now. He’s here, at least.” He paused, rubbing his eyes. “Pepper, I had no idea. How does he even fight?”

  
“That’s how he deals with it.” She swallowed hard. “Was it that bad?”

  
“I have never seen anything like this. I’m not sure I can properly gauge it.” He paused. “He got sick, afterwards.”

  
“It was bad.” She was already rounding up her stuff. “Do you need me there?”

  
“He seems to be past it, we just wanted to tell you.” Loki replied. “You work hard, and you don’t need this stress, but…”

  
“No, I’m glad you called. And I’m… so very glad you’re there.” She bit her lower lip. “Otherwise who knows when someone would have helped him. He may have been lost in the dark for hours. I’ll be back when I can, call me if I need to leave sooner than that. Stay with him for me. Tell him I love him.”

  
“I will.” He sighed.

  
“Thank you. Thank you so much Loki.”

  
“It rather does not feel like enough to be thanked for.” He sighed and pressed the button to hang up, standing to join Tony in the bathroom. The shorter man didn’t argue at all, holding onto him in the shower, hiding against him with one hand tangled into Loki’s long hair.

  
And oddly, all Loki could think about was the concert they’d attended during his first visit and Tony’s explanation of the strange not-fight they’d joined in. ‘When someone falls, you pick them up.’ They’d both fallen. And they’d picked each other up.


	12. Chapter 12

A few hours later they were on the beach. The colder weather had chased away most of the beach combers, only the most stubborn of surfers out and in the water even though the sun was bright. Loki and Tony were sitting under a cluster of beach umbrellas, alone. Tony was staring out at the water and smoking, Loki had his e-reader, sitting upwind of Stark and watching the shorter man lose himself in his indulgence, each sighed-out exhale a gradual shut down of the machine that was Tony’s mind.

  
Loki had seen this before, when he’d first visited, and he’d somehow caught on that whatever Tony was using to calm himself, whatever this plant was, there was some questionable legality involved. But it was working, and there was a lot of relief when Tony smiled at him, actually smiled at him.

  
“Feeling better?” Loki finally asked, the e-reader sitting in his lap.

  
“Yeah.” He propped himself back on the heel of his free hand, head lulling back a bit, lax, muscles loosening as Loki watched. “I’ve been smoking this off and on since I was, like, sixteen. Dad was not pleased. He was more a self-medicate with alcohol type.” His hand twitched, a motion from long term habits, ash falling. “So I stopped for a long time. I try to keep it very occasional now. Frankly with how I form habits, if I let this be more than immediate relief of symptoms I’d be smoking in the labs and Bruce would be reaming me one, and so would Pepper.”

  
“Even I have to admit the smell is not entirely agreeable.”

  
Tony laughed in a mildly giddy way. “You get used to it. Either way, it’s done what Pepper and I hoped. So it’s like… a good indulgence rather than a bad one.”

  
Loki mmmed to himself, returning to his book and smiling when Tony shifted and shouldered against him, leaning into his side and looking up at him upside down. So he wrapped an arm around him and stared at the water, then blinked and looked off to the side, watching someone walk up the sand toward them. “That woman is… familiar.”

  
Tony shifted and looked, and groaned, faceplanting into Loki’s side and chest. “Christine fucking Everhart.”

  
Loki shifted the hand to mess with Tony’s hair. “I can ask her to leave if she comes over here.”

  
“She is. Let’s see what she wants.” Tony sat up and didn’t bother even trying to hide that he was smoking, because it’s fucking California that’s why, there are entire counties where most of the income was based on cannabis.

  
“First beach I checked.” Christine said by way of greeting, wearing a bikini and a tasteful coverup set, carrying a messenger bag. “Nice to know the rumor mill is sometimes correct.”

  
“Yeah, Tony Stark at an exclusive hotel, shocking.” Tony gave her a look. “What do you want?”

  
“Ohh, hostile. Just how I like them.” She was digging into her messenger bag. “Been smoking weed long, Stark?”

  
“It’s medicinal. Keep it out of your story.” He blew the smoke in her direction, making a face. Loki was watching this and had gone very still and very quiet, setting the e-reader aside.

  
She lifted an eyebrow, and offered a printout. “You offered me a deal. Here’s the article I’ve submitted to Vanity Fair.”

  
“Just had to give it to me in person?” He took it and looked at it for a moment.

  
“Please. If I sent it to your company I’d never hear about this again.”

  
“Well, you’re probably right about that.” He took another drag, not looking at her. “I’ll look it over but fuck off while I do. I’m not in the mood.”

  
She folded her arms and lifted an eyebrow. “Really. Are you ever?”

  
And that fast, Loki was up and between them, standing and moving into her space to force her a step back, feeling the spark left in him flare for a second. “He had a very, very bad day and I will not tolerate your behavior.”

  
She pursed her lips and looked at him evenly, not looking all that impressed. “Prince Laufeyson, right?”

  
He smiled in an extremely unfriendly way, performing the mockery of a bow. “Yes, yes, at your service. Now please leave him to his thoughts. I will retrieve you from the hotel bar shortly.” He dug into his pocket and came out with the room key, he’d seen others ringing up hotel expenses on it. “There is an expense account on this card. Use it. Just leave for the time being.” Tony shifted and wrapped an arm up around one of Loki’s legs as he started looking over the article, so Loki put a hand down and stroked it through Tony’s hair slowly.

  
She took the card and considered it. It was plain, without a room number. “Okay, then. Don’t take too long, I may get bored.”

  
“Oh, the agony.” He sneered, and watched her walk away. “Tony, can I see your phone?” Tony passed it up after a second, he glanced at it and hit the Jarvis button. “Hey, Jarvis, do you have oversight on the hotel expense accounts?”

  
“Yes, Mr. Laufeyson.”

  
“Well, I just gave my room card to some annoying quim of a woman.” He kept massaging his hand into Tony’s hair without thinking about it. “If she uses it anywhere else but the hotel’s bar, find a creative way to punish her for her poor choices.”

  
“Shall I include the police in this punishment, sir?”

  
Tony snickered, rubbing his cheek against Loki’s leg. “Easy, tiger, I’m having to prevent myself from saying some stupid things right now.” And hopefully this urge will fucking pass, he thought to himself.

  
Loki smirked. “Only if really necessary, Jarvis. Just lock it out somehow otherwise.”

  
“I’ve already taken up residence in the hotel’s network, sir, so that’s easily done.”

  
“Jarvis, shame on you.” Tony said. “I’ve taught you well.”

  
“I have learned from both the best and worst, sir.” Jarvis sounded amused.

  
Loki shifted and stayed standing guard over Tony. No one else was nearby, but there was something oddly comfortable about how they were positioned. Either way somehow he ended up shoving the phone into his pocket, he’d never had one but the motion was automatic, learned from Tony and the others.

  
“See, this is why I think you’ll be just fine living here.” Tony glanced up at him. “Thor is still occasionally baffled by his phone, you’ve taken to that level of technology like a natural.”

  
“It is not difficult.” Loki replied, watching Tony smoke and read. He was down to the end of the spliff, but still seemed alert enough, reading over the article Christine had given him.

  
“Well, it’s a pretty typical puff piece. Does what I asked her to. Keeps us out of it until some passing references at the end, mostly just saying who was there.” He passed the printout up to Loki and stared out at the ocean, shifting when Loki sat back down beside him to look over the article.

  
“Ugh, what glorified twaddle.” Loki said about half a page in.

  
Tony flopped back and laughed, draping an arm over his eyes, trailing into hazy gigglesnorting. “Oh my god I love how you talk sometimes.”

  
“Well, it is.” But Loki was smiling. “There is no substance to this piece at all. Just shiny stupid words about a bunch of self-referential wealthy people.”

  
“I resemble that remark.”

  
“Mm. No, the difference is, you fell out of step with these people and decided to matter.”

  
Tony shifted his arm to look at Loki with one eye. “I like to think I mattered before I became a superhero.” When Loki just smiled at him, he sighed. “Asshole. I see your point.”

  
“I do appreciate she kept us out of it, though I’m uncertain I like being part of your entourage.”

  
Tony shifted and flopped across Loki’s lap, looking up at him. “I don’t like the word either, I don’t have an entourage.”

  
He dropped the printout aside and folded his arms around Tony to keep him there, looking down at him, hair draping down. “I think we should make her wait a while.”

  
“Mm. I like this idea.” Tony smiled in a lazy way, bringing up an arm to lace over Loki’s, holding them there.

  
“When did I become a caretaker of an Avenger?” He said this out loud, because he was honestly wondering.

  
“Is that how you see this?” Tony looked up at him, seeming distantly hurt.

  
“I don’t know anymore. I know my place is with you, and with Pepper. I know I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know what this is.”

  
“That’s fair.” He conceded after a long pause. “We haven’t talked about this. Personally? I think you’re my boyfriend.”

  
Loki blinked at him. “Is that… as significant as it seems?”

  
“You sleep in my bed, you look great with Pepper, we get along, you got me out of a bad place.” Tony laced his hands with Loki’s. “Boyfriend.”

  
Loki bit back the giggle, because there was just something ridiculous about someone like Tony Stark declaring this, with his usual devil-may-care attitude and smile. “Mmhm. Check back with me when you’re sober, Stark.”

  
“Pfft. Jerk.”

* * *

 

Christine was sitting at the bar, honestly having a wonderful time over her second martini talking to Steve, when Loki and Tony wandered in. Tony had changed clothes, so he wouldn’t smell like half a jungle walking through the hotel, but hadn’t cared enough to shower again. “Hitting on my friends and coworkers Ms. Everhart?”

  
“Why not, you kept me waiting.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

  
Steve just laughed. “She has stories about you, Tony.”

  
“Who doesn’t?” He dropped the printout in front of Christine. “Okay.”

  
“Okay…?” She lifted an eyebrow at him.

  
“It’s a ridiculous trashy puff piece but it does exactly what I asked for and you lessened the impact of the entire Avengers family running around baffling a bunch of rich sharks, so. Okay.” Tony shrugged, shoving his hands in his back pockets. “Tour of Stark Tower it is. Probably it’ll either be me or Pepper giving it, most likely me because of her schedule. Public, business, R&D, manufacture, and shared levels. No pass into the apartment floors unless someone’s feeling especially nice, and that won’t be me. Could take a few hours or most of a day depending how many questions you ask and be aware we might not be able to answer them, if you’re on R&D especially. A lot of that stuff is still need to know basis.”

  
She lifted an eyebrow again. “Wow. Sounds like pure business.”

  
“It is. I am, occasionally, capable of that.” The bartender looked at him expectantly, Tony wove him off.

  
She looked at him for a long moment. “And how will this happen, then?”

  
“I’ll let reception and Jarvis know you have a pending pass. Show up, talk to reception or Jarvis. They’ll get ahold of me, and providing the world is not currently melting down, I’ll show up.”

  
Christine looked at him again. “Wow. You have had a bad day.” When Loki growled softly, looking at her in warning, she smiled. “Okay. I’ll have to schedule this of course, we can’t all drop everything and fly to New York.”

  
“We’re going to be in Malibu a while yet anyway.” He shrugged.

  
“Thank you for the use of your card, Prince Laufeyson.” Christine passed it back over, stepping away from the bar and her empty martini glass. “I imagine the hotel will call a taxi?”

  
Seeing Steve just barely quirk a brow, Tony wove a hand. “Yes, see the lady to the door, drive her to wherever she needs, whatever, mazel tov, enjoy.”

  
Steve just laughed and offered Christine his arm, which she smiled and took, walking her out of the room.

  
“She’s going to eat him alive.” Loki observed, flipping his room card through his fingers.

  
“Nah. He’s more worldly than you’d think.” Tony replied. That was of course in some small part Tony’s fault, having taken Steve through strip clubs and bars on Steve’s birthday. After buying him dinner of course. Tony had some class, sometimes. “And honestly? She’s not bad. It’s not like I hate the woman, she just bores me and it’s been a bad day.”

  
“I know.”

  
Loki drug him into the restaurant and ordered for both of them, watching Tony climb the rest of the way out of his bad mood as they talked. Recovery was slower for him, Loki mused, but that was alright. More than alright once Tony started talking weapons and armor for him, totally ignoring the fact that they were in a restaurant that was in fact almost always serving people. And he found himself actually able to keep up with the conversation. The ‘crash courses’ he’d gotten from Jarvis were just enough to hit the ground running and understand what Tony was talking about.

  
Steve came and found them when he got back, and by then they’d retreated back to the hotel room, Tony sitting on the floor and Loki sitting on the couch right behind him, working with the wireframe software and talking shop. Loki had seen the software in action, in passing, and he found it fascinating. And Tony was a fount of ideas and intelligence and mad crackling energy once he got going, more than willing to teach once Loki decided he wanted to learn. The knock at the door halted the discussion, and Loki got up and answered the door, leaving Tony to finish what he was working on rendering.

  
“Afternoon, Steve.” He held the door open and stepped aside, letting Steve in.

  
“I hope I’m not interrupting?” Steve replied, digging into a bag he carried and tossing Tony a bottle of juice.

  
“Life saver.” Tony grinned and caught it. “Loki keeps drinking what the hotel is putting in the minibar.”

  
“I’ve seen you post smoking enough to know what you want.” Steve replied, passing one to Loki then grabbing a chair and sitting down across from Tony, watching what he was working on. “So, if I understand right, Miz Everhart is one of many women you slept with before you became Ironman.”

  
“That is about the size of things. She’s a journalist for a magazine, but she’s got spunk. That said if you’re looking for my blessing I’m not a priest.” Tony lifted an eyebrow.

  
Steve snickered. “No. Just making sure I’m not stepping on any toes.”

  
“I already have three people in my bed right now, anymore and I’d have to start looking at custom furniture.” He batted the wireframe over to Loki, who’d sat down next to him.

  
“I’m not going to pretend to understand, frankly.”

  
“It works better when you don’t think about it.”

  
“That’s what Pepper said.” Steve rubbed his eyes. “More serious subject then. When you walked into the bar I seriously wanted to bench you from fighting for a while.”

  
“You spend a lot of time wanting to do that and it’s never worked out in your favor.” Tony replied, watching Loki consider a reworked joint mechanism for a combat staff.

  
“I saw eyes like yours before I wrecked. They called it the thousand yard stare.” Steve replied bluntly. “Shell shock. I’ve seen eyes like yours now, when I visit VA hospitals. They call it PTSD.”

  
Tony and Loki both paused, looking at him. Tony sighed, drinking some of the juice. “Yeah, I have PTSD Steve. I thought SHIELD told everyone.”

  
“No, no they didn’t.” Steve huffed and looked away, dealing with a long list of emotions. “I’m functionally your commanding officer in battle. I should have been told.”

  
“What, so you can try to bench me again?” Tony wanted to know. “Fighting helps me.”

  
“Tony, you FLY. If you have issues during battle, and you’re in midair, we are going to be powerless to stop it, and you will end up dead.”

  
“Well I guess it’s a good thing that hasn’t happened yet.”

  
Steve made a noise of frustration. “This is what drives me crazy about you. You can be so fucking flippant about things that are important.”

  
“Wow, language, Captain Rogers.” He lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Yeah, fuck you, Anthony.”

  
“If I may?” Loki wanted to know, not looking at either of them, focused on the model in his hands. “Steve, you have every right to be concerned about Tony’s health, even mental, but removing him from battle for a chance issue that, so far, has not occurred on the field is an overreaction.”

  
They both blinked at him.

  
“May I just call attention to the fact that the guy that tried to kill us all is the voice of reason in the room?” Tony said.

  
“You’re the one trying to date me, Stark.” Loki replied, still focused on what he was doing. “Frankly battle is as good of a way to get to know someone as any. Steve, you are caring and protective and want your friends at their best, but you should know by now that telling Tony not to do something will mean he will go do it, immediately, with fireworks and an accompanying orchestra.”

  
Steve started laughing, rubbing his face with his hand. “Okay. Good point.”

  
“Okay, so tell me something. If you didn’t know, why didn’t you question me smoking pot?” Tony wanted to know.

  
That made Steve give him a look. “You need a reason? Since when?”

  
“Point for Steve.” Loki said, smirking when Tony punched his shoulder lightly.

  
“Look, I am sorry. I really did think everyone knew this by now.” Tony told Steve. “Yes, I had an issue this morning, yes, I’m out of it, and believe it or not I’ve been getting better. If I doubt myself before a fight, I will let you know. Fair?”

  
“You, doubting yourself? That’ll be the day.” But Steve leaned and held out a hand anyway, shaking on it. “You know I just worry, right?”

  
“That’s fine, I like having people worry about me. It’s a nice change.”

  
“You mind if I hang out?”

  
“Never.”

  
Loki chose this moment to lean over and pass the wireframe back to Tony, then watch with a quirked eyebrow and that smile as Tony looked at it, then again, then expanded it out. “No?”

  
“I… what…” Tony turned it in his hands, because it was not what he’d passed over. Hell, he wasn’t even sure how Loki had ended up at this, but he turned the model in his hands and pushed to link it back up and watched the simulation do so, then undid it, considering. “We really need to get you into R&D.”

  
Loki laughed.

* * *

 

They were still sitting there when Pepper let herself into the hotel room, standing holding the door open and looking at them. “Hey.”

  
“Did work go well?” Loki asked, looking up from the wire frame he was tearing apart with Tony. Steve had been sucked into it, sitting on the floor with them and learning how it worked. Tony hadn’t stopped grinning since that had happened.

  
“Nothing worth discussing really.” She set her messenger bag aside and stepped out of her heels, which made Tony lift an eyebrow slowly. “Steve? I need to talk to my boys, I’m sorry.” At this point, Loki slid his eyes sideways to look at Tony and saw his expression.

  
“That’s fine.” Steve got up cheerfully, blushing ridiculously bright when Pepper kissed his cheek as he passed. “See you guys later.”

  
“Uh huh, see ya.” Tony said, though at this point he figured it’d be tomorrow.

  
Then the door closed and she folded her arms, quirking an eyebrow and smiling at Tony. Tony calmly closed the laptop and set it aside, pushing up to sit on the couch, and that fast she was on top of him, sitting straddling him and kissing him fiercely. Loki was still on the floor watching this with an eyebrow up when they both reached down at the same time and drug him up on the couch as well. He ended up on his knees, one hand on one of Tony’s shoulders to steady himself as Pepper broke the kiss with Tony to kiss him, hard and hungry, and he melted into both of them, growling into it when their hands roamed.

  
It eased into a silent moment, their faces leaning together, Pepper biting her lip, Loki’s breath coming fast and Tony making one of those low noises in his chest that was usually a prelude to other things.

  
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, I am so sorry.” Pepper finally said, nuzzling into Tony.

  
“I’m okay.” Tony replied, meaning it. Of course, Pepper was on top of him and Loki was against him, he was more than okay. Wonderful, really, rapidly forgetting this morning.

  
“And you…” She turned her head just a bit and nuzzled into Loki, making his eyes lull. “You have no idea how much you saved us today.”

  
He didn’t get a reply out because she was kissing him again, hands at the back of his neck. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in tight, aware that Tony was getting her suit jacket off then working on her shirt buttons, then working on Loki’s shirt, hands speeding down the buttons and undoing the cuffs. Then Tony’s teeth had found that place on his chest, and he snarled into the kiss, burying his other hand into Tony’s hair and holding him there, feeling Tony shake from yank.

  
Pepper was ditching out of her shirt, cutting the kiss off to go for Loki’s neck, and his head lulled back, laughing and giddy in spite of himself. He never got over how much these two wanted him, how bad, and to him it spoke right to that part of brain that wanted to be recognized, worshiped, praised. He slid a hand along Pepper’s back, snapping his fingers and getting her bra undone (something Tony had showed him, and he never tired of the noise Pepper made when one of them did it to her). Tony pulled away from him enough to get Pepper out of the bra and nuzzle into her chest, then both of them had a hand in his hair, Pepper’s teeth at one of Loki’s ears.

  
Tony shifted Pepper’s weight and kicked, a sudden savage motion, and the coffee table flew, skidding across the room and knocking against the entertainment center. Something crashed, they ignored it, rolling off the couch as one and hitting the floor on the ridiculously plush rug. Tony moved enough to yank the drapes mostly across the balcony window, stripping out of his shirt before pouncing back into both of them, getting Pepper’s skirt undone and off, her boyshort underwear following. She was laughing and pointing out that the bed wasn’t even a dozen steps away, and Tony was saying fuck that, that’s miles away right now. Pepper ended up sitting leaning back against Loki’s chest, head turned and one hand up to grab into his hair, kissing him like her life was depending on it. He was on his knees, sitting on ankles, arms around her to caress over her breasts and grinning into the embrace when she gasped and arched because Tony had sprawled out and buried himself between her legs, moaning when she buried one of her hands back into his hair in response, the low noise from his chest returning when she wrapped her legs up over his shoulders.

  
Because laughter and chatter during foreplay aside, Tony was quiet and focused during sex and only made those tiny urgent noises when something excellent was happening. And half the time he was drowned out because Loki growled and snarled, and Pepper always muffled her noises into embraces if she could because her voice carried when she was enjoying herself. Almost a shame, really, because the noises Tony made were borderline sinful.

  
Pepper was shaking in Loki’s arms, and he shifted, burying his face into her neck before biting there, finding her pulse and letting his teeth caress there, grinning into it when she cried out, eyes open to watch them both. She arched and went rigid, shaking in their arms, biting back what was probably a scream and instead just whimpering their names, rocking and hissing when Tony didn’t stop and this time she did scream. She was still unspooling in Loki’s arms when Tony was moving, grabbing him and kissing him over Pepper’s shoulder, and Loki was groaning because Tony tasted like Pepper, pushing into the kiss and snickering into it when he felt Pepper’s hands working on their pants, tumbling to the rug when she moved. Somehow Tony ended up on top and Loki didn’t even care, laughing again at the teeth on his neck and the hands on his body.

  
Tony touched things to figure them out, and he always treated Loki like something brand new, letting his hands slide slow, trace muscle lines, reverent, praising. He let his mouth dip down slightly, finding a place to latch on where Loki’s neck met his shoulder and grinning at Loki’s laugh. It wasn’t because the taller man found something funny, it was aggression and fierce sex and what was so awesome about it was that it was so real. No mania was there, it was just Loki lost in lust, needy, demanding. He worked on Loki’s already undone jeans, tugging them off his hips and grinning when Loki kicked out of them. His own pants slouched around his hips because he was entirely preoccupied, target focused, shoving down and putting his mouth back to use. His grin came back when Loki’s hands buried into his hair.

  
He’d never really figured out why he liked it when his hair was yanked on, but hadn’t thought about it much either, hell anything that wired straight to his dick like that was not something to complain about. And Loki loved people kneeling before him, at his feet, evidenced by the guttural purr of satisfaction the taller man did when Tony gave up and swallowed him down. Loki was right on the edge of personal tolerance, and that was always a thrill, because he was all about pushing boundaries. Tony was aware of Pepper suddenly reappearing, with lube and condoms and thank god she had half a clue because Loki’s fingernails scratched into his scalp and he was half gone immediately.

  
Pepper leaned over Loki and kissed him, and he pushed up into it, eyes sliding mostly closed then opening then with a hiss of disappointment when Tony stopped and bit one of his hipbones, quivering at the loss of heat, almost glaring when Pepper pulled back and smirked at him.

  
“So, who’s in the middle?” Tony wanted to know, looking up at them, brown eyes molten, voice low.

  
“That’s what I was wondering.” Pepper replied. “You had a bad day but Loki got to be our hero, so…”

  
Loki made a frustrated noise, swearing in Norse under his breath, having to bite back demands because he knew it wasn’t him entirely talking, praise me, worship me, need me, want me, love me, but they saw it and were on him in a flash. Tony shoved up and kissed him hard, letting it ease into something warm and tender before pulling back and cheerfully shoving him at Pepper. And he went willingly, pouncing on Pepper and taking her back down to the carpet, kissing her, propped on his hands over her, tossing his hair out of the way then gasping when Tony grabbed a hand into it and yanked, just hard enough to keep his attention.

  
Pepper let her nails play down his back, biting into the kiss and grinning into it when Loki growled again, the noise ramping up when Tony’s teeth found the back of his neck then worked their way down, Pepper’s fingers raking one way and Tony’s raking the other. Loki broke the kiss and let the snarl trail into a howl, quivering, and knew from experience these two did not hurry with him. His fault, really, from the first time they’d fallen into bed and he was still a demigod, but now this body was very mortal and they constantly shoved him up against his limits.

  
Pepper’s legs were at his hips, trying to pull him down, and one of Tony’s hands had found him, slipping up inside him because Loki had no resistance to it. Part of him wanted to, the part of him that was left over from before, demanding to know why the rest of him was so okay with being kept by two mortals. And that part was rapidly being taken apart by Tony and Pepper because they needed wanted loved worshipped him, and he let himself get pulled down, twitching at Pepper’s guiding hand and arching mindless when Tony’s fingers pushed up against something good as he met Pepper’s flesh. His head bowled, biting his lower lip and letting himself getting pulled into another kiss with Pepper, she was making tiny noises into it because he was buried into her and not moving. But Tony had a warning hand on his shoulder, so he stayed.

  
Tony was staring down at them, stroking a hand down Loki’s back, nails dragging as he got himself lined up and listening to the people in his life make noises that drove him fucking mad, moving to prop over them both and biting into one of Loki’s shoulder blades as he started sliding into Loki. The noise Loki made in response was insanely dirty, the kind of shuddering moan that was straight out of porn. Loki broke his kiss with Pepper to just bow his head, shaking under Tony’s hands and growling when Tony bottomed out.

  
“Stark…” Loki writhed between them, trapped and gasping, drawing more tiny noises out of Pepper because Tony was pinning them both. So he shifted back to his knees, getting his hands onto Loki’s hips and gripping there, drawing back enough for Loki to move then driving them both forward, grinning at Loki and Pepper’s outcries in response. That was more than enough for Tony to let himself go, not bothering to hold back, Loki liked being shoulder checked against his boundaries, liked finger bruises at his hips and teeth in his flesh. Not pain, not exactly, but awareness, a bit of manhandling and possessiveness.

  
Pepper was stuck nearly along for the ride and had no complaints because the percussive slam of two bodyweights was excellent, holding Loki and kissing him, fingers scratching into his shoulders and grinning when English failed the former demigod, voice breaking into random snatches of Norse, eyes glowing. Inexplicable or not, she was glad Loki got his Asgardian eyes back because they went molten bright during sex. And sometimes when Tony hit something good or she tightened up on him, little shots of red would show up in his pupils for a split second and fade away. Any other time it might have been creepy but it was strange, hot, visual evidence that what they were doing was taking him apart.

  
Loki moved at Tony’s behest, panting, eyes barely open. Tony’s previous experience showed because he’d learned all of Loki’s buttons like an expert, and knew just how to get his thrusts angled. Loki was rendered into twitching, fighting to hold out between the tight velvet hold Pepper had on him and the scratching of her fingernails, and the unyielding heat of Tony and his strong talented hands. Especially when Pepper arched and clung to him, gasping and shaking around him.

  
“Come on, baby, come on…” She spoke in his ear, biting there.

  
“Let go.” Tony was leaning over him again, pinning him, pushing him down, teeth digging in at the base of his neck, right at the spine. “Loki, come on, let go…” Tony’s voice was low, urgent, and Loki hissed in response, fingers curling into the rug and voice choking out as he came, the world spiraling out around him, falling apart, all bright lights and static. Pepper reached up around him and jammed a hand onto the arc reactor, and Tony let out a gargled cry, spine bowing at the shock that ripped down his spine, pushing him over the edge.

  
Tony slumped sideways slowly, pulling them with him, ending up trapped on the floor against the couch, Loki’s back shivering against his chest, Pepper curled up against Loki, all three gasping and clinging to each other.

  
Loki had his eyes closed, licking his lips slowly, feeling Pepper’s lax body in his arms and Tony’s slow heavy post-orgasm breathing, the reactor purring against his back. He wanted to say something, anything, but he had no words. They were stolen, overwhelmed, unneeded perhaps, smiling when Tony nuzzled the back of his neck as Pepper nuzzled his chest.

  
Fuck Odin. He wasn’t going back if it was offered on a silver platter with the crown. These two were home now.

* * *

 

They ended up going out late and finding a chain restaurant to eat at, something cheap and open full time. But they were all starving and Tony wanted a burger so, it worked. Seating arrangements in a booth, with three of them, was awkward. Tony ended up taking one side and putting his legs up, Loki leaning on the corner on the other side so Pepper could lean on him.

  
“This is one of those moments where I’m glad we’re not getting any attention because frankly all three of us look debauched.” Tony remarked, holding his soda and drinking out of a straw, looking at them.

  
“It’s a good look on you.” Loki was amused. Really they weren’t being noticed because the restaurant was crowded with a rather bizarre spectrum of people, mostly young. Tired eyed people with laptop computers, drinking coffee and talking over and around the booth walls. Another group sitting together, one sitting on the edge of the table playing some kind of instrument. A crowd of tanned primped men and women, some of whom he thought he recognized from the beach by the hotel. A group of performers, in leather and metal, lots of skin showing, smelling of fuel and fire. An elderly couple, sipping coffee and watching it all with bemused smiles.

  
So, their being slouched in a booth, completely and obviously fucked out, fit in rather well.

  
“Isn’t it though?” Pepper smirked at Loki.

  
Tony managed not to roll his eyes. “You realize I owe hotel management an apology, a coffee table, and an entertainment center. Possibly a rug.”

  
“Neither of us made you kick that table.” Loki smirked.

  
“It was in the way.” Tony shrugged, smirking at them when they both giggled. “Worth it in the end.”

  
“I’ll drink to that.” Pepper picked up her own glass, and they knocked them together over the table, laughing. “To the bar being lifted.”

  
“And a difficult bar to lift it was.” Loki said, grinning as he toasted with them.

  
“Big statement coming from you.” Tony quirked an eyebrow.

  
Loki rolled his eyes. “If I agree to talk about it will you stop bothering me about it?”

  
“Maybe.” Tony replied in voice that said ‘probably not, but open to options.’

  
“You don’t have to.” Pepper remarked gently, in a ‘Tony stop being a dick’ tone of voice.

  
Loki just wove his cup vaguely. “What I will tell you is, most of what the Norse legends wrote of was just that. Legend. Some of it has some basis in reality. I was a sorcerer. I was able to shape shift, more or less at will. Famous for it, really, made a somewhat convincing woman when I bothered.” He quirked an eyebrow, watching Tony have conflicting emotions about this.

  
“No.” Pepper said, half smiling. “I know what you’re thinking, and no.”

  
“Well he can’t do it now anyway right?” Tony looked at Loki for confirmation of this.

  
“Correct. I’m powerless. That magic is gone.” He shrugged. “I was also called silver tongue, liar, manipulator. Bit of fun, really, nothing much. But when you’re surrounded by muscle bound soldiers, you make your own fun. And sometimes, my schemes caught me out and I was told fix it or face consequences. Sleipnir was one of the end products of this, and frankly? I don’t regret it, really. Oh, sure, Thor’s friends had a laugh but they usually did anyway.” He took a drink of his tea. “Besides, Thor got in on my schemes more than once. Ask him about the time we cross dressed to steal a magic keg sometime.”

  
Tony choked on his soda. “Oh. My. God.” Pepper was biting her lower lip to hold back the laughter at the mental image.

  
“But, a lot of it is just legend. Didn’t happen. You mortals are good at making up stories when you have half an excuse.” Loki smiled a bit. “No, I’ve never been lashed to a rock and tormented by a snake, for example.”

  
“Yeah, see, that always set kind of badly with me.” Tony replied. “When you first visited and Thor and I were talking before he left you in my care. The whole ‘sew your mouth shut’ thing. I am NOT okay with torture. I’ve been tortured. And frankly, the idea that someone would inflict it on their own family let alone their kid disturbs the fuck out of me.”

  
He shrugged. “It didn’t happen so that’s neither here, nor there. And I have no desire to return to Asgard at this point.” Seeing them both look at him, he smiled and didn’t meet their eyes. “Oh, come now. You think you could catch a former god of mischief and ever be rid of him?”

  
“You say that like we’d want to be rid of you at this point.” Tony replied. “Boyfriend, remember? And I’m sober now, before you say anything.”

  
“Oh, we’re official now are we?” Pepper was smiling.

  
“Pretty sure we have been and I just haven’t been sticking labels on it.” He shrugged.

  
Loki stared into his drink for a moment, swirling it without thinking too much about it. Strange, really. Nothing was actually changing. He was already with them, had been since his first visit. But this felt a lot more significant than they were letting on. This was them including him in their odd committed relationship. He went back in time, in his head, and tried to remember when anyone had wanted Loki of Asgard when he was always the shadow that haunted his brother’s steps. Oh, sex was one thing, not exactly complicated especially when he could change his form at will. But being committed to these two? Well it wasn’t like he’d seen another option since he crash landed. Returning to their bed was just… a given. A comfortable safe place, where he was supposed to be. “You’ll forgive me if I find this mildly overwhelming.” He finally said, putting his cup down, then looking up when a waitress arrived with platters of food.

  
“Why?” Tony wanted to know, digging into his fries before the plate was even contacting the table.

  
“Well, I suppose having a flag planted on you by a Fortune 500 CEO and a famous inventor who happens to be an Avenger could be mildly overwhelming to some.” Pepper smiled. Tony just looked at her blankly.

  
Loki just smiled and shook his head, digging into the food. Typical of cheap food of this world, greasy and salty, definitely unhealthy but oddly compelling and delicious. Tony would get serious when he wanted to. He worked on his own schedule, and even Loki knew that. Hell he’d figured that out after knowing the man less than a day.

  
Tony zoned out while he ate, watching the people around them in the restaurant. Loki and Pepper left him to his thoughts, as he’d share them eventually, and settled for snuggling down together on the other side of the booth, Loki wrapping an arm around her. Then Tony abruptly stood from the table, taking his drink glass with him and walking over to the tables where the young people with the computers sat.

  
“What are we doing?” He wanted to know, slurping his soda, looking over one of their shoulders and reading. “Your code is fucked.”

  
That brought the table he was immediately at to a halt, all of them staring at him for a long moment.

  
“Senior project…?” One said after a moment, a confused young guy with short dark hair.

  
Pepper and Loki shifted to watch this curiously, Pepper blowing out a long suffering sigh.

  
“Your code is still fucked, let me look.” Tony reached and appropriated a chair from another table, thumping it down and leaning to look at the person’s machine, skimming over what was being presented before wordlessly pointing at the screen.

  
“Guys. I told you. I told you it was him.” Said one of the two girls in the group, eyes wide.

  
Tony lifted an eyebrow and put a finger to his lips for a moment, then made a cheerful gather-around gesture, pulling the computer geeks in around him and getting into a discussion about their project.

  
“And yet the vacation was his idea.” Pepper sighed again, but she was smiling. The students had gathered around, dragging chairs and crowding in, and Tony was talking fast, dynamic, being handed paperwork, glancing at it then gesticulating at the screens. Other laptops were brought over so he was looking at a half circle of screens, various makes and models. He sat back and considered, rubbing his chin and looking around at the students, continuing to talk. “Yeah, he doesn’t want to get them in trouble.” The students spoke back, gesturing. “And they want to see what he’s going to do.”

  
Tony scruffed a hand through his messy fucked hair, then laced his fingers together and turned them to pop them, looking over his shoulder. “Loki. Know anything about programming?”

  
Loki lifted an eyebrow. “Consulting for free? You?”

  
“That’s a no then. Get over here, you’ve got sharp eyes. Sorry Pep this shouldn’t take too long.” He added.

  
She smiled, moving to let Loki get up and join them, taking another chair over. “That’s what you always say.”

  
“Seriously, half an hour.” He half smiled when Loki sat behind and to the side of him, looking over his shoulder at the screens. “One of my lab partners, ladies and gentlemen.” The students greeted him, and Loki realized there were quite a few cameras and phones pointed at them now. “Smile sexy for the cameras, Loki. I’ve been doing this since I was, like, ten.” Then he was shifting the laptops, fingers rattling on keys, eventually pulling the one of the bunch that was a touchscreen front and center.

  
And Loki just smiled and watched it all, watched the strange jargon fly by on the screens, listening to Tony talk to the students. He only caught maybe half of it, but he was willing to bet that was only a matter of time. Besides, after the mess of the day, this felt like a strange return to status quo, and that was a good thing.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony and Loki sat in one of the rental cars, on the shoulder of a road probably an hour away from the hotel. Traffic was minimal, and California countryside spread out around them. Loki was behind the wheel, looking at Tony with what the shorter man considered to be concerned eyebrows. He’d spent the hour drive to where they’d ended up trying to actually drive reasonably, talking Loki through the process, lacing their hands together on the stick so Loki could feel him shift.

  
“Look, if you can ride a motorcycle, you can drive a car. Motorcycles are actually much more complicated to deal with.” Tony said. “And this is a pretty easy drive. I’m having some mercy here by not starting you on the Ferrari.”

  
Loki snorted. “Steve said I was good on the motorcycle, but I didn’t actually get it up that fast.”

  
“How fast?”

  
“Fifty of your miles an hour I guess.”

  
Tony lifted an eyebrow. “In urban New York streets?”

  
“Well, yes.” He blinked, looking back out the windshield. “Horses make so much more sense to me, but I suppose this is all part of adapting to this world.”

  
“Stop stalling and start the car.” Tony half smiled, then smiled all the way when Loki glared at him and got his feet on the pedals right, doing so and getting it into gear.

  
What followed was an hour of frustrated swearing in various languages as Loki missed gears, stalled the car, got cut off by confused other drivers, and generally got pissed off at the process. But he learned, and soon enough Tony was sitting back against the door, one hand resting at his chin to scratch idly at his goatee, watching Loki shift the car up fully and drive.

  
“So, the signs on the road say what speed we should be going, but many cars can comfortably go faster.” Loki finally said, glancing down at the gauges.

  
“Mmhm.” Tony glanced around the road they were on, then shrugged, sitting back again. “Floor it.” And he grinned when Loki did. Yeah, it was a rental, but like he’d even consider driving a shitty car, and the engine roared as the BMW was let loose. And it was very satisfying when Loki grinned. “You are going to love the Ferrari.”

  
Loki did. Once they’d made it back to the hotel and changed cars, Tony gave the keys straight to him and warned that it handled entirely different than the rental BMW. And Loki took to it like a fish to water, and Tony kicked back and enjoyed the ride, keeping half an eye on their travel path so they didn’t wander too far from the hotel.

  
“There is something oddly enjoyable about this.” Loki finally said. They were at a gas station, the Ferrari was turning heads, especially combined with them, and the STARK license plate. Tony was used to it.

  
“I’m glad you like it.” Tony was leaning against the car, drinking from a bottle of water and watching Loki deal with the gas. “You’ll need to have your own method of transportation eventually. I mean, you can always hitch rides with us, not a problem, and New York has public transportation, but having your own ride is an independence thing.”

  
“These things are expensive, I’m sure.” Loki glanced at him, lifting an eyebrow, then watching the gas pump click.

  
“Some more than others.” He shrugged. “Not that I care, within reason. I mean, of course I’d prefer you picked something of quality, but one of Bruce’s two cars is a Honda.”

  
Loki blinked at him, then blew out a sigh as the pump clicked off, putting the nozzle back and dealing with the touch screen. “I have much to learn.”

  
“It’s not that hard, it’s just a matter of deciding what you like.” Tony watched Loki get the receipt and took it when it was offered, again realizing Loki was leaps and bounds ahead of his brother in adapting.

  
“I do like Steve’s motorcycle.” Loki looked at him, lifting an eyebrow again.

  
Tony lifted one back, then got out his phone. “Hey, Jarvis? Are there any motorcycle dealers near us?”

* * *

 

“You like spending money on me, don’t you.” Loki stated this instead of asking, stepping back out of the Ferrari. Tony had driven to the dealership, after going through the list Jarvis had offered up and flat out dismissing most of them until he saw the Ducati dealership on the list.

  
“I like spending money on my friends.” Tony replied, also getting out. “I’ve never exactly been a penny pincher, and now a lot of my personal finances funnel into supporting Ironman, but I’ve invested well, and my personal labs rake in some cash for the company. Apartments, vehicles, whatever else? Child’s play. I’m happy to do it. And you’re my friend, you’re more than my friend. I’m happy to do this. Besides, next week I’ll be setting you up as a Stark Industries employee anyway.”

  
Loki gave him a funny look. “You’re going to pay me.”

  
“You’ll be working the labs. So yes. You’ll be an official employee. Paycheck, expense account, phone.” Tony shrugged, not walking up to the doors yet because he could feel the people inside staring. Let them look, he thought with a smile.

  
“I imagine there are people who would be willing to kill for the opportunity you’re giving me, Stark.” Loki lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Oh, I have no doubt. But I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t think you were good for it.” He grinned and shrugged. “Besides, it’s always a good idea to keep one’s muse nearby.” And he started walking, letting Loki catch up.

  
“I’m your muse now?” Loki smirked at him.

  
“Seems that way.” He opened the door and held it for the taller man, stepping in behind him. “Oh, keep in mind we’re getting two. Preferably identical.”

  
“What, why?” Loki looked over his shoulder.

  
“One for us to rip apart, one for you to ride in the interim.” He grinned, and it widened when Loki grinned back.

  
“These are different from what Steve owns.” Loki said after a moment, walking over to the show floor slowly.

  
“Steve’s bike is a vintage piece. Not quite as old as he is, but close. Late 1950s, restored.” Tony replied, following him far enough back to watch his expressions easily.

  
“I imagine you had something to do with that?”

  
He paused. “It was what made us okay, honestly. I spent some time not being Steve’s favorite person in the world, and in case you haven’t noticed I kind of suck at words, sometimes. He came by after everything and said he was eating a lot of crow because of what I pulled off and naturally I fucked that up. Went hunting for some way to apologize for my stupidity. Left the bike on his doorstep with a note that said ‘Tony apologizes for being a dumbass.’ So he came back by to tell me just how much of one I am in detail.”

  
“And never left?” Loki lifted an eyebrow at him.

  
Tony snickered. “That is about the size of things. What can I say, I’m not very good at relating to people sometimes.”

  
“Wow, could have fooled me.” Loki laughed, trailing his fingers over a bike as he walked past it, then stepping back and looking at it again.

  
“Keep in mind if nothing here is demanding to be ridden I have a few other places we can stop by. This is the first of a list. In fact we should probably consider options before committing to something, just to be smart about it.”

  
“You realize of course I don’t know how to go about purchasing such a thing.” Loki visibly dismissed that part of the sales floor, stepping over to the other side of the room and starting over.

  
“I don’t know, you’re doing okay so far.” Tony half smiled. “We’re looking at style and potential here. I have cabinets of tools that can do wonderful things to engines if you’re not satisfied.”

  
“Style and potential…” He slowed, considering one of the bikes. “I’ve seen these on the road, New York and here. The riders sit differently.”

  
“Sport bikes, yeah.” Tony watched Loki move and sit astride one of the bikes, and it was like watching Loki leap astride the horse at the country club. Natural motion. “You prefer it?”

  
“I think that I do yes.” But he sat up, looking around the shop and pondering. In the background a few salesmen were watching, but keeping well away for the moment. “That said, what else is there?”

  
Tony looked at his phone. “Oh, we have a few different options actually. Come on.”

  
A few shops later, they’d found their way to a BMW dealership, the Ferrari sticking out more than a fair bit in customer parking as they walked in the doors.

  
“I spend a lot of time shopping on this world.” Loki dithered.

  
“You weren’t complaining much when you were being fitted for a suit.” Tony replied.

  
“That was a rather enjoyable experience. This is dull.”

  
“Are you kidding? This is a hunt.” Tony grinned at him. “Come on, you don’t have any anticipation at all?” Loki started to reply, then focused past him, and cheerfully walked by him to where the bikes were. Tony kept grinning, shaking his head slightly and watching him, glancing at his phone as Jarvis started bringing up everything that was in the shop. “My, Jarvis, you’re gaining some nasty habits. By all means, keep them.”

  
“Just trying to be efficient sir.” Jarvis replied, sounding smug.

  
Loki, meanwhile, was pacing his way in front of a line of bikes, and Tony could see him dismissing the bikes one by one, narrowing down a list. Actually rather fun to watch, especially when Loki stopped beside one, fingers trailing across the top edge of one like he was it expecting it to purr. The moment was neatly ruined by talking salesmen behind Tony, just this side of audible but it still made him roll his eyes.

  
“We need to talk to them if we want to make a sale.” One was saying.

  
“I’m not going to say a thing to him. I’m just going to hand him keys.” Another said.

  
“Do you even know who that is?”

  
“Yes. Which is why I’m not going to say anything.”

  
Tony smirked, stepping closer to where Loki was, now focused on one bike. Tony pointed his phone at it and watched Jarvis cheerfully pull everything up, quirking an eyebrow. “BMW S1000RR. 193 horsepower, looks like.” He watched on his phone as Jarvis showed an engine schematic. “We can more than work with this. And remember I have a paint shop, so don’t worry about the color.”

  
“Red is rather more my brother’s style.” Loki smiled a bit, that quirky curly way that Tony enjoyed.

  
“I won’t lie, this is a lot of bike, man. This is probably twice the power of Steve’s bike.”

  
Loki stood and lifted an eyebrow. “Afraid I can’t handle it, Stark?”

  
“No, I’m kind of digging on the mental image of you in bike gear right now.” He scratched his goatee. “You like it enough to try it out?”

  
Loki straddled the bike and put up the kickstand, easily standing it up, considering the controls. “Yes, I think that I do.”

  
“Okay.” He lifted an arm and beckoned to the salespeople without looking.

  
The entire sales department took notice of this, and one walked over. “Can I help you, sir?”

  
Tony gave him an exasperated look because, seriously? These assholes have been actively eavesdropping the entire conversation and this guy leads with that. “Well, you can fuck off, and when you get there, continue fucking off. Bye.”

  
The salesman reeled back two steps, looking shocked. “Sir, I…”

  
And another salesman faded in, wordlessly holding up a set of keys dangling from one of his index fingers, offering only a friendly smile.

  
Tony nodded at the second guy, then gestured at Loki. “My friend is the one who needs the keys, and a brain bucket because that pretty face does not need to get busted.”

  
And the salesman pulled his other hand out from behind his back, wordlessly offering a flat black motorcycle helmet.

  
Okay, now the guy had Tony’s attention, so he smiled and nodded at Loki, watching the salesman step over and hand both to Loki. Loki stood off the bike and stepped beside it to walk it out, following the salesman’s gentle beckon, rolling the bike across the floor and out a garage door the man opened. Then Loki was back astride the bike, tossing his hair back in that goddamn shampoo advertisement gesture and putting the helmet on, getting the bike started.

  
Tony ran by and got his keys out, starting the Ferrari and pulling it around just in time to see the bike peel out, skitter a bit then bite into the pavement. So he grinned and floored it, whipping the Ferrari onto the road behind the bike and trying to stay stuck to Loki, if for no other reason than really, Loki had no idea where the fuck he was. And it was a mad chase because half a block in and Loki was lane splitting, and Tony was swearing because Loki was in no way dressed for this, but goddamn, seeing the taller man crouching on the bike and adapt to it while in motion was amazing to watch.

  
Then they pulled out of traffic, and Loki was gone. The bike pulled away from the Ferrari, which roared under Tony’s hands but he was still left watching the rapidly disappearing dot that, soon enough, disappeared around a bend on the highway.  
“Shiiiiit.” He said slowly, swallowing hard. “Uh, yeah. Okay. I think we found the right bike, Jarvis.”

  
“Sir, if I may say, it might have been more intelligent to give your phone to him. You’re familiar with the area.” Jarvis chided.

  
“Well, now you say that.” He blew out a sigh, backing off the gas but still driving. Several miles down the road, he found Loki again, pulled off on the shoulder to stare out over the ocean, helmet dangling in his hand. He downshifted and pulled off, parking behind the bike and stepping out, arms leaning on the top edge of the door and the roof of the car. “Fucking hell, man. You ditched me.”

  
Loki smirked at him over his shoulder. “I want it.”

  
“No, really?” Tony walked over, the Ferrari’s door still open and the engine still running, cheerfully grabbing Loki’s shirt to pull him around. “I couldn’t tell.” He didn’t have to pull Loki in, Loki drug him closer instead, and they were still kissing hard enough to be a promise of intent for later when another car rolled up behind the Ferrari, and Tony broke the embrace to look, lifting an eyebrow when he saw it was a cop car with rollers on. “Well… shit.”

  
Loki only laughed, high and giddy but no mania at all.

  
“Well, well. Been a while since I saw one of Tony Stark’s cars rocket by.” The cop said, walking up eyeballing the Ferrari then looking at them. Tony belatedly let go of Loki’s shirt. “I take it you know this fuckwit, Stark.”

  
“You might say that.” Tony agreed, and he was grinning in spite of himself.

  
“You want to explain to me why he was doing nearly three times the speed limit?”

  
“Because he wanted to?” Tony shrugged. Loki laughed again, quieter this time, and Tony’s phone chimed the familiar Jarvis paging noise, so he looked at it and lifted an eyebrow when he saw the officer’s particulars were pulled off. Jarvis was certainly up to some no good today. Maybe he was bored since the tower was empty. “Jerry, is it? My friend here isn’t from around here. In fact, he barely exists. If you did a background check it’d most likely come up blank, and that’s because he’s Thor’s brother. And being from another planet does tend to lend you diplomatic immunity.”

  
“Bullshit.” The cop stared at him.

  
“It’s already pulled up on your computer in the cruiser.” Tony watched the cop walk back to his car, and looked at Loki. “Why’d you pull off?”

  
Loki looked at him blankly. “Fuel light came on.”

  
Tony was still laughing when the cop stormed back over. “You are a dick sometimes, you know that?”

  
“Yep.” Tony smiled and shrugged.

  
“I caught you doing nearly fifty over. I could slap you with so many tickets and fines your head would spin.” The cop narrowed his eyes. “But really, I’d rather you two just got the fuck out of my hair. So, please return to the motorcycle dealership at a reasonable… and LEGAL… speed and don’t let me catch you speeding the rest of the day.”

  
“Fair enough officer.” Tony agreed, glancing at Loki. “If you do the speed limit you should have enough gas to get back to the dealership anyway.”

  
Loki smiled and shrugged, putting the helmet back on. “Lead the way, Tony.”

  
Tony returned to the Ferrari, watching the cop peel out from the shoulder, and followed suit, turning them around and heading back, the bike trailing him. And he found he could not, for the life of him, stop grinning.

* * *

 

The quiet salesman was waiting for them patiently when they pulled back into the dealership, along with the first salesman who Tony had thoroughly dissed. Said dissed salesman looked pissed about something too, but Tony ignored him and walked right up to the guy who’d given Loki the keys and the helmet.

  
“It’s your sale. He needs gear, and we actually want two of these.”

  
And the man merely nodded, rubbed his chin as he considered Loki, then led him over to the gear racks, pointing out what were his personal selections and leaving Loki to scratch his head as he gestured at Tony to follow him into the back, through an employees-only door.

  
“You can talk, you know. I don’t bite.” Tony remarked. Well, that wasn’t entirely true but true enough for the situation.

  
“Usually we have more in stock but right now, well.” The salesman stopped next to a shipping crate and nodded at it. “The other one we have.”

  
“It’s not even fully built yet is it.” Tony said slowly, and rubbed his hands together slowly. Well, shit, this was nearly ideal.

  
“That is the case. Typically we can’t sell them like this but if you’d rather leave it as is, I’m sure we can make arrangements. And we’ll be happy to provide free shipping.”

  
“Leave it as is. I wanted it as a project bike anyway.” Tony nodded. “I guess we probably have some paperwork to deal with.”

  
“A bit. I’ve taken the liberty of dealing with most of it.” The salesman smiled. “Did he enjoy the bike?”

  
“Yes. Yes he did.”

  
By the time Tony and the salesman emerged, the salesman carrying the paperwork, Loki was sprawled in a chair, in full gear with what was probably a far-end helmet dangling in his hand, obviously waiting for them and bringing the rest of the shop to a halt in the process. Not that Tony blamed them because he pretty much stopped mid step just to stare, and it took a second for his brain to reboot.

  
“Well. That’s leather isn’t it.” He said after a moment. It had to be, the way it folded and hugged Loki’s body, even over his clothes. It was borderline obscene and he felt his heart stutter-step in his chest.

  
Loki stood and flexed his shoulders, the creak audible. “I’m used to leather.”

  
“Uh huh.” Tony said slowly. “Well get over here so we can ring up, well, all of you.”

  
Loki only smirked, and stood by Tony the whole time Tony dealt with the sale, leaning back against the register counter and generally being distracting. “So. Do I get to ride the bike back?”

  
“One of my associates filled it up.” The salesman smiled.

  
Loki looked at Tony and did that fucking eyebrow thing that made his heart and the arc reactor have a fight and considering he was already all sorts of disjointed from the whole Loki in leather thing, that didn’t really help. “Like I was going to say no, but keep it at the speed limit, there’s only so many times we can leverage the whole diplomatic immunity thing before YOU get to answer the phone call from Fury.”

  
Loki tilted his head back and laughed, loose and careless, and followed Tony out of the store, helmet dangling in his hand and grinning when he saw the bike parked next to the Ferrari. “What about the plate that goes on the back?”

  
“Yeah, take a look yourself.” Tony watched him walk around the bike and look at the temp plate, which had the future custom tag LOKI1 printed on it.

  
“Stark.” Loki settled on communicating the thought with an absolutely volcanic stare, eyes lighting up.

  
“Uh huh.” He grinned, already getting into the Ferrari and starting it up, glancing in his mirror to see the bike fall in behind him. And there the bike stayed, though Loki lane split during traffic lights to pull up next to him and smirk at him from behind the visor of the helmet. Which did nothing to help Tony’s driving skills, really.

  
Eventually they ended up back at the hotel, Tony parking the Ferrari and watching Loki whip the bike into motorcycle parking, putting the kickstand down and pocketing the keys, taking off the helmet and tilting his head back a bit, and Tony had another one of those weird moments. Like they hadn’t so much arbitrarily found a motorcycle as found the bike Loki was supposed to have. Like Loki being with him and Pepper, and Loki being in the tower: weird and unassailably right. And Tony didn’t believe in fate, but he smiled anyway, walking over. “So?”

  
“I like this toy.” Loki grinned at him, partly unzipping the jacket and letting the grin get wider and somehow a hell of a lot darker when Tony watched this. “Are you even listening?”

  
“Nope.” Tony admitted, and headed into the hotel, smiling when he heard Loki laugh behind him, that getting familiar hot triumphant laughter. Still, Loki walked in behind him cheerfully, only to pause and look out the glass doors at the board walk.

  
“I’ll catch up. Give me five minutes.” Loki said after a moment.

  
Tony looked out the doors, and saw Thor and Jane standing out on the boardwalk, leaning on the railing side by side, talking. “Don’t take too long, I might get bored.”

  
Loki snickered, and stepped out onto the board walk, the new boots thumping on the deck. His chucks, an odd thing he’d picked up from Tony, were still in the Ferrari, along with the paperwork and who knew what else. He was honestly comfortable though, the motorcycle gear was like armor, the creak and smell of leather familiar, reassuring, if a bit warm now that he wasn’t riding. So he unzipped the jacket as he walked over, leaning on Thor’s other side on one arm, the other arm with the helmet tucked under it. “A moment of your time if you can both spare it.”

  
Jane cut off mid-sentence and looked at Loki curiously. Thor just clapped his back. “Of course, brother.”

  
“I suppose there is something I regret, now. Some ages ago I said some angry words, out of ignorance. Because I did not understand. I could not, what did I have to compare to?” He didn’t look at them, staring out at the water. “I think I understand, now. So, I hope you understand when I say I regret what I said. And I hope you can at least forgive me for that.” He looked at Thor for a second, smiled just a bit, and walked away before they could say anything else, waving with the helmet by way of goodbye and retreating inside the hotel.

  
“Well. That was interesting.” Jane said after a second. “But… I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

  
“I do. Because he said it to me.” Thor stared after Loki, remembering his brother’s confused enraged screaming about Jane. A strange apology, too, Loki thought he understood…?

  
Jane looked at Thor when he laughed, loud and joyous. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”

  
“Oh, my dear Jane, I am not going to claim for an instant that I know the workings of my brother’s mind. That said…” He pulled her in to his chest, nuzzling his face into her hair, still laughing. “I think my brother is falling in love, Jane. I cannot even remember when he last did. And he was apologizing because he once judged me for loving you.”

  
Jane blinked, then laughed too, returning the hug. “He won’t apologize for trying to conquer the world but he’ll apologize for that?”

  
“Do not try to understand the mind of a sorcerer, dear Jane.” He pulled up one of her hands to kiss the back of it, smiling at her. She conceded the point.

* * *

 

By the time Pepper got back, Tony and Loki were sitting at the (new) coffee table, talking designs and lab work, but mostly designs. Tony had some ideas he admitted were off the wall, but hell, if they worked they could prove beneficial to how Loki fought.  
“Yeah, it was called Wardenclyffe Tower.” Tony was saying when Pepper stepped in.

  
“Tesla? Careful, Tony, remember what happened last time.” Pepper tutted. The balcony door was open but it hadn’t entirely obliterated the smell of new leather and sex. “You boys, I swear.”

  
“Welcome back.” Tony smiled at her, warm and relaxed. “How was today?”

  
“Ugh, I have to go to Germany late next week.” She shook her head, stepping out of heels and setting her bag aside, then pausing when she saw Loki’s motorcycle jacket draped over a chair. “Well, I did see the motorcycle.”

  
“It’s a marvelous toy. I rather love it.” Loki replied.

  
“He decided on full leather motorcycle gear.” Tony said.

  
Pepper looked at him, then Loki. “I need to see this.”

  
Loki made a show of sighing and stood up, gathering the jacket and stepping to the bedroom to figure out where the pants went.

  
Pepper sat on the couch by Tony, who was sitting on the floor. Tony was shirtless and she ended up tracing a finger over the newest bruise on one of his shoulders, already black and blue, obviously a bite. “Holy shit. Did he draw blood?”

  
“Yes. I’m starting to wonder if he has a fetish he’s not talking about.” Tony shrugged, skin twitching at her touch. It stung a bit, but Loki had cheerfully cleaned it after. “I’m not entirely complaining, I like walking around doing business shit and feeling marks on me. Makes me feel less alone.”

  
“You haven’t been alone for a long time.” Pepper leaned to nuzzle the top of his head, snickering. “You need a haircut.”

  
“It’s not that bad.” He smiled though.

  
“You just don’t want to get rid of your favorite handhold for us to use.” She pecked the top of his head.

  
Loki stepped back out of the bedroom. “I wouldn’t call it a fetish, exactly, but I do like marking and tasting what is mine.”

  
Pepper blinked at him, one hand at her mouth and eyes wide. “I’m suddenly glad I’m sitting down.”

  
Loki only smirked and offered a hand, and she stood and took it, letting herself get pulled into a kiss. Tony sat back and watched, smiling, because Loki kissed Pepper differently than he kissed Tony. It was a warm sort of wondering embrace, hands always shifting to cradle her, one at the small of her back the other gently at the back of her head and neck. Pepper was holding onto the open zipper line of the jacket, stepping further into it, pushing the embrace up a notch, and Loki responded, purring.

  
“Okay, shoo, both of you. I’m tapping out for the moment.” Tony said, snickering.

  
“You wore him out?” Pepper said, breaking the kiss to laugh.

  
“Stark, I will bet you a hundred of your dollars you change your mind in the next five minutes.” Loki replied, smirking at him.

  
“No shit a hundred of my dollars.” Tony gave him a look, and Loki laughed, picking up Pepper into a bridal carry without a lot of issue, and she was laughing as he toted her into the bedroom. Tony only smiled and shook his head, going back to what he was doing with the design, he’d already settled on a power supply it was just a matter of where to put it and how to connect it in, it sure as hell wasn’t going onto the staff but…

  
Then Pepper cried out, one of those sharp surprised noises when something good caught her entirely off guard, and Tony’s body said HELLO, super genius, priorities.

  
He put his head in his hands for a second, then stood up and moved to the doorway, folding his arms. “You two. Are going to kill me.”

  
“No, just make you feel like you’re dying.” Loki’s neon cateyes stared back at him, in spite of the reasonable light of the room. “Get in here.”

  
“Impatient much? Maybe I’ll just stand here.” He snickered. “Enjoy the show.” But Loki growled at him and Pepper curled a finger at him, and he went back to bed, laughing and sore and happy.


	14. Chapter 14

The rest of the break in Malibu went by fast, never quite settling into routines but repeating themes of everyone meeting up for meals, Loki and Tony spending free time driving together, the fast nimble bike dancing around the bulk of the Ferrari, wandering the coastline around Malibu and the back roads for the pleasure of it. Pepper coming back from work and flopping gladly into their arms. Sparring on the beach. The wire frame software on more often than not.

  
Then suddenly, they were gone from the warmth and creeping familiarity of Malibu, returning to the cold wet fall weather of New York. Thor had split from the group again to take Jane home, saying he’d catch up soon enough and bid them farewell before returning to Asgard for a time. Loki tried not to think about it, oddly more concerned about his bikes, which had been put on another plane. But his new toys got to the Tower as assuredly as everyone else did.

  
“Thank you all for going with me.” Tony finally said once everyone was standing in the lobby, still carrying luggage. In a unanimous accord, they all messed up his hair once they got on the elevator, splitting up to separate floors, and Tony suffered it with an affectionate smile. He dumped his luggage just inside the door and grabbed his laptop. “I’m going to the labs.”

  
And Loki followed along, grinning at Tony when he was grinned at, taking the laptop and following along, watching Tony step off the elevator and walk into the main floor of the labs, clapping his hands. “Jarvis, heat it up. Daddy’s home.”

  
“And welcome home, sir.” Jarvis said, the labs lighting up, low background thrums starting as machinery and computers came to life. “The modifications you’ve asked for have been completed.”

  
“Excellent, thank you.” He cut into a room off to the side, where Loki remembered sitting on his first day in this tower, months ago, where Tony and Bruce had gotten into long tangential discussions and Steve had showed up with pizza. “So, I’m sure you’re wondering how this is going to work.”

  
“I rather am, yes.” Loki set the laptop down, watching Tony load and start a coffee machine then dig into a cabinet of snacks, sitting down on a stool. One of Tony’s hands flicked out, one of his nonstandard keyboards lighting up in response. “I was left under the impression that you and Bruce had a routine. A verbal dance that fueled what you did. I’d hate to disturb that.”

  
“Well, I have some ideas on how to balance this out.” He leaned and smiled, and Bruce appeared in the doorway. “Speak of the devil.”

  
“I knew you’d be down here. Did you have the rumpus room renovated again?” Bruce lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Yeah, I gave up. We needed a home theater setup. Didn’t go for the fucking theater chairs though.” Tony shrugged, opening up the snack package he was holding. “I’m looking forward to testing it out.”

  
“Yeah, Steve and Clint are beating you to that as we speak.” Bruce stepped in and claimed a stool. Loki gave up and sat down.

  
“The cads, taking the virginity of my new sound system without me. What’s their choice? Tell me it’s something good.” He offered the bag over and Bruce cupped a hand automatically to catch what was poured into it.

  
“And this is what I mean.” Loki said, looking in between them.

  
“Stop feeling useless and have some granola.” Tony offered the bag over, and the taller man laughed and accepted the offer. “So really, what movie?”

  
“Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” Bruce’s voice was muffled by eating the granola mix.

  
“Good enough.” Tony got up and got three mugs out of the cabinet, pouring coffee for all of them and passing the mugs out then setting creamer and sugar in the center of the table. “Loki, you have concerns, air them so we can work this out faster.”

  
He blinked, cradling the hot mug in his hands. “You two are very smart. I’m sure I haven’t actually come to comprehend how smart actually. I’ve seen glimpses of other universes in your eyes.” He blew out a sigh, steam flowing away from his mug in the process. “And honestly, I like to think I am intelligent. But I’m not sure it’s enough, even if I am smart enough. I catch some of what you say. Sometimes it’s a lot, sometimes it is nothing at all.”

  
“Hm.” Tony looked at him, stirring his mug. “Leaving aside comparing IQ scores, I get what you’re saying.”

  
“Information deficit.” Bruce said. “We have the education to back us, and years of experience in working in it, and you don’t. And diving into the deep end of the ocean is bewildering.”

  
Loki nodded at Bruce. “Yes. And I’m not sure I have enough years in this mortal body to even dream of catching up. Which makes me wonder how I’ll be of any use, here.”

  
“But you want to do it right? Work in the labs?” Tony lifted an eyebrow.

  
“I, yes.” Loki blinked at him. “I like that strange wire frame software and I like talking ideas out with you. I like the idea of creating things.”

  
“Good. Because here’s my idea. Bruce, you’re our hard sciences guy. That’s your epic strength anyway, not the machine side, so it’ll play better to you and you won’t have to interrupt your trains of thought as much. Loki? I want you to pick up the machine side of the lab. Concept into functional render into actual physical model if need be. I’ll bounce between you. I can work both sides of the lab as needed. That’ll let you both focus on strengths, and give me some freedom in what I’m doing. Seem fair all around?”

  
“Actually…” Bruce considered, fingers tapping on his mug. “That could work.”

  
“Machine side of the lab.” Loki repeated. “I need more details before I commit to anything.”

  
“Well, details we have in spades. In fact, let me show you both.” Tony got off the stool and walked down the hallway, stepping into a walled off area. “Your lab, Loki.”

  
Loki stepped in and turned around slowly, hand at his mouth and looking around. Computers, screens everywhere, his own wire frame table, machinery and tool cabinets and things he wasn’t sure he recognized. “Stark, I…”

  
“You’ll still be doing some catching up. Somehow I doubt welding is a skill normally taught to Asgardian princes.” Tony half smiled. “A lot of the hard work is done by machines downstairs anyway, but this is still some high dexterity manual labor. You up for it?”

  
Loki huffed, hands on his hips and looking at Tony and Bruce, managing a smile. “I’ll give it my best.”

  
“I’m sure you will. Let’s get some work done. Jarvis? Get Loki oriented to his new digs, will you? Thank you.” Tony smiled and headed back down the hall, taking Bruce with him. “I think this is going to work just fine.”

  
“I give him two days before he blows something up.” Bruce smiled at Tony.

  
“Hm. Interesting. On purpose, or by accident?”

  
“I’m not narrowing down my bet that much.”

  
“Pfft. Coward.”

  
Loki meanwhile had set his coffee mug down, brushing his hair out of his eyes and sitting on a leather rolling stool, staring around at the bright lab and its new equipment in wonder. “Jarvis?”

  
“Yes, Mr. Laufeyson.”

  
“I think we have work to do.”

  
“There is always work to do, Mr. Laufeyson, it is a constant in life.” Jarvis sounded droll. “But, in relation to what you mean, shall we start with your computer setup then work our way around the lab to go through the available equipment? Keep in mind, Mr. Stark did not mean this as a permanent setup. He knows full well you’ll be altering this to your liking. Call this a cluttered canvas.”

  
Loki mmmed and took a sip of his hot coffee. “Noted. And I shall take your suggestion. The computers, then.”

* * *

 

It was hours later when everyone went upstairs to bid Thor goodbye, the group gathering up in the rumpus room automatically. The tower actually had a variety of common rooms, including a small library that was still growing, but the penthouse floor was the automatic place everyone went.

  
“I do wish I could stay longer, but I can’t shirk all of my responsibilities.” Thor clapped everyone on the back and accepted half a hug from Natasha. “Brother, I would speak to you for a moment before I leave.”

  
“Sure.” He stepped aside with Thor, hands in the pockets of his jeans. He’d torn apart his lab and started moving things around, clearing out some floor space because he knew that he’d be working on a weaponized staff, then ending up in videos Jarvis brought up. Soldering, welding, how to use these machines without injuring himself terribly. He had a lot to learn. “What’s on your mind?”

  
Thor was looking at him with concerned eyes, arms folded. “What should I tell father if he asks?”

  
Loki blinked. “Tell him nothing.”

  
“Brother…” Thor blew out a sigh, hanging his head.

  
“He exiled me.” Loki heard his voice go cold. “He tore away my magic, and he exiled me. He would have tortured me if you had not put a stop to it. What right has he to ask after me?” Seeing his larger brother’s hurt gaze, he sighed. It was honestly disturbing how much a demigod of Asgard could look like a kicked puppy. But then, this newer, humbler Thor wore his heart on his sleeve a bit. “Tell him I am making my way here. That I am someplace safe. That is more than he deserves to know but hopefully it will be enough to satisfy him.” He paused, then lifted an eyebrow. “And tell Heimdall to keep his eyes off me. I don’t appreciate it.”

  
Thor blanched, then laughed out loud. “You can feel Heimdall’s gaze?”

  
“I did a few times in Malibu and if he’s not careful he’s going to see things he doesn’t want to.” Loki started to tut, then paused. “At least, I hope he doesn’t want to. Oh dear.”

  
Thor laughed again and pulled him into a hug, relieved when Loki returned it. “The Man of Iron will look after you, brother. I will return when I can.”

  
“I know.” Loki managed not to dangle awkwardly in Thor’s arms, grunting when he was released.

  
Thor was still grinning, and wove at everyone, stepping out onto the balcony and gone in a flash of light.

  
“I never get used to that.” Tony said.

  
“Technology you don’t understand? God forbid.” Clint snickered.

  
“I hope it’s technology. If it’s magic you’re all carting me to the madhouse.” He watched Loki come over and join the conversation pit, now dominated over by the large home theater screen. “You okay?”

  
“I’m well enough.” Loki replied. “Are there plans for this eve?”

* * *

 

Days rolled by, melting into weeks. Loki found himself living in the heartbeat of Stark Tower, adapting to Tony’s schedule and life. The others were there, coming and going, but he’d been pulled in alongside Bruce and welcomed into the arms of the inventor and engineer that Tony was, not the playboy, the superhero. It was a bit disorienting at first, realizing he was sleeping happily against the other man, working out in his gym, working in a lab down the hall.

  
He wondered, for a few days, if he’d stepped out from under his brother’s shadow just to end up under the shadow of the glorious brilliance of Tony Stark. But that uneasy thought was quickly quashed when he realized Tony was pushing him, and pushing him, and suddenly his name was appearing on bylines for the designs they were rattling out, and he’d fallen in with Tony and Bruce like a puzzle piece.

  
It was easy. Once he got a hold of the mechanical skills he needed, though he was still polishing some of those skills constantly, it was easy to work with them. Sometimes it was like throwing an idea back and forth, a concept spun out by Tony or Bruce that got put out, tossed back and forth between them, solidified, then suddenly it’d pop up on his table or they’d be yelling down the hall at him. And sometimes they’d all just get together and work something out. Sure, their success rate wasn’t perfect. There was always a stack of files on someone’s desk, ideas waiting to be returned to. But the lab was in motion, and he quickly came to understand why they loved what they did.

  
And he brought another element to the lab: time keeping. Loki ended up laying down laws and dragging them out more than once before they learned not to fuck with him when he said it was bedtime, dammit. He made sure meals happened, even if they weren’t all eating at once. Mostly it was self-serving, because he was watching the time because of his medication and because you could run military drills by the timer his stomach had, but Pepper was able to relax because finally, an adult was running the nursery. Her words.

  
And he was allowed distance. Almost nothing was explicitly asked of him, and if he decided he needed out of the lab or the tower, no one really questioned him beyond the usual “Are you bringing back food?” which was damn near a mantra from the Avengers crew. Never mind that he was riding a sport bike. He was given one of the specialized Stark phones and suddenly he had a direct line to Jarvis as well, and that was a bit amazing unto itself. And it let him wander the city on the bike with ease because he never had to worry about being lost.

  
A month somehow drifted past, and the weather got worse, but he still took the bike out if the roads seemed at all clear. Snow was starting to push in. The Avengers had had a few callouts, leaving him frustrated and alone and somehow enraged behind them. It was all low key stuff, according to Tony. Hell, all but one of the callouts were drills. But it still frustrated the hell out of Loki, left him stewing in the lab and breaking more staves.

  
The pile had climbed to eight when Tony called a halt to it, staring at the stack of scrap Loki willingly gathered up and dropped on his work table.

  
“Early models snapped at the joint. I think we have finally found the right joint mechanism, but now…” Loki held up one of the poles, showing it was sheared off about a quarter of the way down.

  
Tony leaned his jaw on his hand, staring. “What in the fuck have you been DOING to these?”

  
“Practicing.” Loki just looked at him.

  
“Right. Jarvis, what alloys have we been using?” He watched the information pop up on one of the screens. “Shit. We’re officially into expensive options.”

  
“How expensive are we talking?” Bruce asked.

  
“Well, this…” He reached over and took the sheared off pole, staring at it. “Is a nuclear grade alloy.”

  
“So now we’re in the Ironman toy collection?” Bruce lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Looks that way. And hell, we’re just trying to get a blunt instrument out of it at this point.”

  
“I was rather hoping to bring this front and center soon.” Loki admitted. “I know it’s not a priority…”

  
“Well, let’s make it one. You’ve been more than patient enough.” Tony sat back. “Let’s get you suited up.”

  
And suddenly, reality hit Loki. “You’ve been making me prove myself.”

  
“Yeah.” Tony shrugged and drank his soda. “Thought that was obvious. Put you through a month of hell to see if you’d stick it out and you’ve shone brighter than the fuckin sun.”

  
He stared at the shorter man, then rubbed his eyes. “Why do I sleep with you again?”

  
Bruce snickered. Tony just smiled. “Pepper asks me that a lot. And I have an idea I’m just dying to try out. Wouldn’t work for anyone else, but it might work for you.”

* * *

 

From what Tony, Bruce, and Jarvis told him as they went, Nikola Tesla was an eccentric genius and inventor, and got little recognition for his success. What was more known were his rather … unusual inventions. Like an earthquake machine, or what Tony was focusing on, the Wardenclyffe Tower.

  
“Short of it, the man wanted to be able to send out electricity without being restricted to wires.” Tony was saying, bringing up the bits and pieces of designs he’d been working on and pushing them over to Loki to look at. “Now, what he didn’t realize is he was onto something entirely different. Really what he was pushing towards was more like wireless telecommunications. The entire project got abandoned and left to rot in the end. Huge money pit.”

  
“And you want to turn this into a weapon?” Loki finally asked, looking at the bits and pieces of designs Tony had been working and trying to see a connection. Sometimes it was hard to get Tony down to ground level.

  
“Not exactly. More a power source for your weapon. I’m thinking something like a plasma flare on impact or when you cue it would be awesome.”

  
“Lightsabers.” Bruce had been resting his folded arms on the table, and put his forehead there, muffling laughter.

  
“That way you can still use them as a blunt weapon like Steve’s shield but you have extra force when you want.” Tony continued, ignoring Bruce’s reaction. “The problem is, we can’t put the power source into the staff that easily. It’s too restricted a space.”

  
“Would fuck up the balance too.” Loki said, thinking about it.

  
“So that means the power source has to be on you. So, here’s the thought. We put one on you, possibly something spun off of the Ironman toy box, here’s my thoughts…” He grabbed those designs out of what he had shoved over to Loki and enlarged them. “Since the power source is on you, it’ll be hard for an enemy to get them off you somehow and use them against us. But making it a wired setup would just complicate matters so I want to try for proximity instead. That way there’s no wires to break. Maybe have it be part of light armor instead, a row of contacts or something, something hardcore durable.”

  
Loki sat back and looked at him, putting together a combat harness in his head and the idea of how Tony’s off the wall but oddly attractive to him idea would work. “There’d have to be some kind of gloves involved. Protect me from myself and all.”

  
“Don’t look at me I think you’re both nuts.” Bruce said. “Not that it’s the craziest shit to come out of this place.”

  
“Well, leave this side to us then. You think you can figure out the alloy problem?” Tony replied, smiling a bit.

  
“At this point, considering the resistances you’re going to need out of this thing…” Bruce rubbed his face, eyes far away. “You’re probably looking at top tier options, Tony.”

  
“Vibranium and adamantium.” Tony huffed, fingers rattling on his reactor without thinking about it.

  
“And we don’t have the facilities here to make either.” The other man nodded.

  
“Stark Industries does some far end research with those. Jarvis, what do you know?”

  
“We might be here a while sir if you want a full compendium.” Jarvis replied.

  
“Smartass.” Loki snorted.

  
“Vibranium is the cheaper option, however, Stark Industries does have adamantium on hand in liquid form, and it’s not scheduled for a project yet.” Jarvis took the screens over, listing materials in different facilities.

  
“Well, hell, let’s schedule it then.” Tony said, pulling the screen over and looking. “Of course we can only forge this once so we better be very fucking sure of length, balance, and the joint.”

  
“Understood sir, I’ve put your name on the adamantium, I’m sure that research lab will be more careful with materials ordering in the future.”

  
“Yeah, don’t buy the expensive shit unless you’re going to use it because I will use it instead.” Tony grinned. “Okay. Let’s do this thing.”

* * *

 

Bruce ended up putting the final design together for the staff, after looking at what Loki had gone through, and had Jarvis put that through to start the forging process at the lab. It was actually one of Stark Industries’ labs somewhere in the Midwest, so Tony stuck orders on it to ship immediately to the New York tower. Three days later, it arrived. They’d spent the interim blowing up power supplies, not entirely on purpose.

  
The staff arrived in a locked box, with an armed guard with it, and several rather upset scientists. So they went down to meet it, Tony shaking his head in wonder.

  
“It’s not solid adamantium. I designed it with a vibranium core. Thought that would put up better with what you want to do with it and be a slightly more dynamic weapon.” Bruce remarked.

  
“Stop making me love you.” Tony gave him a look. Bruce just snickered. Loki rolled his eyes.

  
They stepped into the lobby and took in the chaos. The guards stood over the box, the scientists were already arguing with each other, the receptionist watching this in confusion. Thankfully the colder weather had stopped most of the tourism that came to the building.

  
“Okay, why are we using an armed guard to deliver me my supplies?” Tony wanted to know, walking over.

  
“Possibly because the item in the box is worth the GDP of several African nations, Mr. Stark.” One of the guards replied, straight faced.

  
“And I wear several times its worth every time I launch Ironman. Open it up.”

  
“Mr. Stark?” One of the scientists said. “We just want to know what you’re doing with all that adamantium. We didn’t even get to see what was forged before it was locked up.”

  
“Not my fault. In the future be more careful about when you order your sensitive supplies, I have some nice graphs upstairs about the power demand of your facility once you started trying to maintain the adamantium.” Tony watched the guard unlock the box and step aside, he stepped over and threw it open, cheerfully picking up the staff and tossing it to Loki. “There’s your new toy.”

  
Loki caught it easily, weighing it in his hand. Bare smooth metal, no paint finish but the metal itself had a curious finish to it, liquid, mercurial. He flipped it through his fingers then balanced it on one of his index fingers, watching. “Balance is good.”

  
“You turned it into a weapon.” One of the scientists said, flat.

  
Loki, meanwhile, had settled his hand to the joint and turned, grinning when it worked smoothly and it separated into halves, checking both for balance then juggling them end over end, watching the metal turn in the air. “Has a great feel to it. Solid.”  
“That’s because it’s indestructible.” One of the seething scientists said.

  
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” Tony said, without a whole lot of humor. “You should see what he’s broken, it’s kind of incredible.”

  
Loki wasn’t paying attention, stepping away from everyone else and going into warm up moves. “Hey, Jarvis. Playlist.”

  
“Yes, Mr. Laufeyson.” And the overhead in the lobby got taken over by Loki’s current playlist, and he stepped into the clear area in front of the receptionist’s desk, reconnecting the staff and starting to go into one of his practice routines.

  
“He does realize we’re damn near in public, right?” Bruce wanted to know, arms folded and watching.

  
“I don’t think he cares.” Tony replied, watching the metal blur the air, Loki adapting easily to the weighting of the new staff.

  
“Staff number one broke… now.” Loki went into another move, and continued the move chain. “Staff two and three. Staff four.” And he continued that way, noting every time he hit a spot in the movement chain where he’d broken one of the test weapons, eventually remarking on where he’d broken staff number eight and pressing by that point, stopping a few minutes later in a crouch, staff held behind him and one hand on the ground. “I like this toy. It will do.”

  
And a camera clicked, and everyone looked toward the noise. Christine Everhart stood in front of the lobby doors, a cameraman standing with her with a large digital camera raised still to his eye. Loki looked toward the noise, not moving, from under his brow and hair dangling in his eyes, and the camera clicked again.

  
“Show’s over.” Tony decided, waving his arms, looking at the guard. “You? Thank you.” He looked at all of the scientists. “You all? Wait a moment.” He walked over to Loki, who stood up and propped the staff on his shoulder, eyebrow up. “You? Get upstairs.”

  
“Which floor?” Loki asked innocently, sweating a bit and grinning.

  
“Pick one.” Tony shoved him toward the elevator, then walked over to Christine Everhart. “Took you long enough.”

  
“Well, like I said. Not all of us can drop everything and fly to New York on a moment’s notice.” She quirked a bit of a smile. “Busy day?”

  
He looked at the cameraman, then back at her. “I don’t remember saying anything about cameras.”

  
“I don’t remember you saying cameras were banned.” She smiled sweetly.

  
“Right. Jarvis? Is Steve in?” He glanced at the ceiling. Jarvis had already cut the music off.

  
“Yes he is, sir.”

  
“Tell him Christine Everhart is here, and that I’m asking for a favor. I need him to give her a tour of Stark Tower, minus the labs.”

  
“Understood, sir.”

  
“What, no personal tour like you promised?” Christine tilted her head just barely.

  
“I’m sorry, are you arguing me arranging for you to spend time with Steve?” He replied.

  
“… Touche, Stark.” She smiled.

  
“I’ll still give you a tour of the labs but you didn’t arrive at the best of times, I have to deal with some things. I do actually, you know, work.” He folded his arms. “So I take it your magazine liked this idea.”

  
“No one’s gotten close to this tower since you opened it, beyond official press relations. You’re giving my magazine an exclusive. Given, not it’s normal style of article, but they still couldn’t resist.” She paused. “They did want me to push for short personal interviews with as many Avengers as I could.”

  
“Good luck with that.” He looked over his shoulder as the elevator dinged, Steve stepping out. “Steve knows as much about the public levels as anyone. Steve, hold that elevator for me for a moment.” And Tony retreated away from Christine, rounding up the scientists and taking the elevator as Steve stepped out, taking Bruce with him. “Thanks, man.”

  
“Not a problem.” He smiled as the elevator closed, walking over to Christine and the photographer. “So, I didn’t get much warning. Mind filling me in?”

* * *

 

Tony lead the scientists (three of them total) out onto the lab’s main level, sighing. “My personal labs. Welcome to candy land.”

  
“No. We work in candy land. This is Valhalla.” One replied, dry.

  
“If that’s the case, then you’ll all stop being quite so petulant.” Tony replied, stepping into his normal work space and retrieving his coffee mug, draining it. “I understand you’re pissed that I stole supplies out from under you. Now understand I’m not too pleased about this either. Your facility is NOT set up as a forge, you were damn near causing a rolling brownout keeping that shit going. How about we not do that again in the future? Why did you even have it on hand without having it project dedicated?”

  
“We were waiting for approval.” Said the one that made the Valhalla commentary, looking at Tony’s wire frame table. Tony swatted his hand with a slide rule he had handy.

  
“Next time, get it. Either way, I credited your lab in company for the cost of materials.” He blew out a sigh. “So, now that we’re here, how about you’re all honest with me. Because I’m not buying the explanation you gave me about why you’re here.”

  
That made the three scientists shift and look at each other. All younger, actually. Tony was big on hiring bright younger graduates, mostly because of reasons pertaining to mirrors. Of course, he’d never met these guys before. Breaking the silence was the sound of Loki’s playlist kicking in down the hall at absurdly loud levels, Rob Zombie it sounded like.

  
“Well, it did have a lot to do with the adamantium. We came into work and your name was on it. I mean… do you care if we swear?” Said the one now leading the conversation. Mid-twenties, if Tony was any judge, shaggy blonde hair waaaaay past a proper haircut and nervous eyes.

  
“No, we’re totally fuckin’ professional in here when it comes to language.” He replied, not looking at them and refilling his coffee mug. Bruce shouldered in and took over the wireframe table, powering up the computer and returning to what he’d been working on. Tony smiled at him.

  
“Well, fucking hell sir. Most of Stark Industries never meets you, never sees you besides official company and press releases. So to come in to work and see your name, a personal order, on materials we had reserved? It did kind of pique our curiosity. And our supervisor wanted to know what the fuck anyway, so… here we are.”

  
“Vacation on company time.” Tony blinked, then held up a hand when they started to protest. “I’m not exactly mad. Mostly because I’m not a great example of forthright responsibility.”

  
Bruce started laughing, unable to help it, then sat back, watching the wireframe table change without his interaction, a design being torn apart.

  
“That Loki’s table?” Tony looked at it.

  
“Yeah.”

  
“We finally get it working and he’s ripping it apart again.” He smiled and shook his head. The music down the hall had changed, Marilyn Manson now, and he could faintly hear Loki singing along.

  
_The drugs they say make us feel so hollow, we love in vain narcissistic and so shallow_

  
“Uh… can we ask what you’re working on?” The blonde scientist said, watching the design come apart with wide eyes.

  
“Sure. Why not? The guy I tossed the staff to is Prince Loki Laufeyson, formerly of Asgard. We’re working on outfitting him. Which is the staff, and this mess.” Tony tossed a hand at the design on the wire frame table. “So far we’ve fried several power packs, but we got it working enough to prove it can work.”

  
The trio closed in around the wireframe table, where the design was still in motion, Loki taking it apart and binning some of it, then new lines were added, the flowing lines of armor falling in around the power pack, a support harness built into it.

 

“Wardenclyffe.” One of the other scientists said, seeing the design name floating in a corner of the table. “Wait, Tesla?”

  
“Yep.” Tony said. “Power transmission without wires. The power pack is going to run the staff.”

  
“There’s no wiring or electronics in that staff. It’s solid metal.” The blonde looked at him.

  
“Mmhm.” Tony sipped his coffee.

  
There was a long silence, and the blonde laughed, long and loud. “Oh, I like it here already.”

* * *

 

Steve held the elevator for Christine and her photographer as they stepped out. “Penthouse floor. Common space.”

  
“The penthouse is common? That seems oddly generous.” Christine said, stepping out and looking around.

  
“Not really, it works out well.” He shrugged, trailing behind her then pausing when he heard noise at the bar, fully entering the room and seeing Pepper there. “Hi, Pepper.”

  
“Hey Steve.” She was opening a bottle of wine, pausing when she saw Christine and the photographer. “Miss Everhart. Tony said you’d be coming by sometime soon.”

  
“Well well, Pepper Potts. Still holding Tony’s leash, I take it.” Christine smiled, walking over to lean on the bar, watching Pepper pour the wine. “Do you have another glass?”

  
Pepper produced a second one and poured. “I run the company now, Miss Everhart. That said, I do manage Tony when it’s needed, which is most of the time.” She offered the wine glass.

  
“Mmhm.” She looked around the room, accepting the wine glass. “Honestly? Doesn’t seem nearly as high class as I thought it would be.”

  
“We did high class once. A villain and a hulk broke most of it. So now we’re walking a line between classy and durable.”

  
“And comfortable, for that matter.” Steve said. “I spend more time up here than my apartment. This is basically the Avengers’ living room.”

  
“Ah.” She took a slip of the wine, shifting to lean back against the bar and watching her photographer shoot the room. “Can we turn the fireplace on?” And it powered on, flames dialing down to a friendly glow. “Wow.”

  
“You’re welcome.” Jarvis said from the overhead.

  
“That is one hell of a view out there.” The photographer remarked, looking out the glass wall to the balcony. The height and the wind kept the snow off, and Steve couldn’t even begin to understand what technology kept the ice off. Tony had been doing a lot of work with his gear up and gear down since the weather had gotten bad, making sure it wouldn’t freeze or lock up partway through.

  
“Yes, it is, but I don’t recommend it right now.” Steve agreed.

  
“Why is there a stove in the bar?” Christine suddenly asked, peering at it.

  
“Because I cook.” He replied.

  
She blinked at him, and decided pointing out it didn’t hash with the rest of the room probably wasn’t going to impress anyone. “So, during the events of New York, a fight did happen here?”

  
“A hell of a fight, wasn’t really put into the news though.” Steve replied. “Damn near destroyed the tower, let alone the room. It’s been put through several renovations since, the home theater setup is new.”

  
“I noticed, it doesn’t match the rest of the room.” She wandered into the room, taking in the screen and sound system. “No theater chairs?”

  
“Tony doesn’t like them.” Pepper replied. “The chairs are an ongoing discussion but these work for the time being. Mostly because Thor hasn’t managed to break them.”

  
“Bruce is still hoping for beanbags.” Steve smiled a bit.

  
“He and Clint both. Tony will cave eventually.” Pepper giggled.

  
“So a common room but Stark’s still in charge.” Christine hmmed to herself.

  
“His building and budget.” Steve said. “The man doesn’t even charge us rent.”

  
“That seems strangely generous of him.” She lifted an eyebrow.

  
“He’s not the man you once screwed. I recommend you get over it.” Pepper said, voice cold.

  
“So, I take it asking you about your relationship with him…?” Christine took another sip of her wine.

  
“Will be met with a hearty ‘no comment’ because we decided some time ago it wasn’t to be public information.” She replied firmly.

  
“Not to sound like a prude but I really don’t want to break up a fight.” Steve said, clearing his throat.

  
The photographer chose that moment to come back inside. “Oh my GOD it’s cold out there. The wind is insane!”

  
“I tried to warn you.” Steve replied.

  
“What’s the raised platform? No railings at all on it!”

  
“That’s Tony’s launch platform for Ironman. Naturally it doesn’t have railings.” Pepper replied.

  
“You got the pictures you want?” Christine looked at the photographer.

  
He nodded. “Yeah. Classiest bachelor pad I’ve ever been in.”

  
Steve had to laugh at that. Pepper just smiled.

* * *

 

In Bruce’s experience, when a small crowd of people all winced and said “Ohhhh” at the same time, it was a sign that someone had had the pain brought to them. Unfortunately, in this case it was Loki being electrocuted. And it’d looked like it hurt like hell.

  
“Holy shit, dude!” Tony was already there, kneeling next to Loki on the floor, who was hacking. “Jarvis?”

  
“No permanent damage, sir. It would appear this model has a ground fault.”

  
Loki hacked and swore vigorously in Norse, rolling to his hands and knees and slamming the floor with a fist. “Fucking HELL. Oh you think, Jarvis?”

  
Tony pulled him close and held him without thinking about it, disconnecting the power pack from the temporary harness as he did. “Any pain? Pins and needles?”

  
“Not anymore. Yes.” Loki shook off. “That was not pleasant. Let’s not do that again.”

  
Tony swallowed his laughter and got to his feet, pulling Loki up carefully. The staff was on the floor a few feet away, and he ignored it for the time being, removing the power pack and looking at it. “Remind me to show you my fuckup videos from designing the first Ironman suit. Trust me, it took more than a few tries to even start to get it right.”

  
“He bounced himself off the ceiling more than once.” Jarvis said.

  
Tony looked up from the power pack, sighing. “Thank you, Jarvis.”

  
“No trouble at all, sir.”

  
He shook his head and took the power pack over to the work table, dropping it down and sighing. “A fucking ground fault. Okay, let’s rip it back open.”

  
Loki shook off vigorously, retrieving the staff and walking over to the table, leaning on it a bit. “But is it working?”

  
“Dude, it just shocked the hell out of you.” Tony looked at him.

  
“And?” Loki blinked.

  
Bruce started laughing. “Okay, uh, Jarvis? Any chance on rendering up what happened so we can take a look?”

  
“Certainly, rendering now.” Jarvis said, and the wireframe came up as he worked it out, the animation flowing with loki’s movements with highlights showing power movement then the ground fault that caused the shock.

  
“Holy shit. It is working.” Tony said. “I mean it didn’t get a chance to get to the staff but it is fucking working. Tesla knew something.”

  
The three scientists tittered to themselves. They’d appropriated stools, coffee, and some popcorn and were sitting watching, passing the bowl back and forth and trying to memorize everything. Yeah, they weren’t being allowed to help at this moment but they didn’t care either. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and a fucking alien were working on Tesla technology. As far as the trio was concerned today had been upgraded to the best day of their lives.

  
“If we can get this to work consistently, we’re looking at some serious implications.” Bruce said. “I mean, worldwide massive tech shift implications.”

  
“Maybe down the road but right now, no one else is going to be able to afford it. This pack has a vibranium ring in it.” Tony said, reopening the power supply. Loki was already reaching for tools. “At the very least though we’re looking at some thesis papers and publication. Patents, I don’t know, have to look at what’s still in Tesla’s name.”

  
“So, say we create this in such a way it could be sold.” Loki said, pulling the power pack render closer and looking at it, then the real thing.

  
“Well, everything starts expensive and select and gets cheap. Rich people will want it for a toy.” Tony said. “I mean, bringing such a thing down to a base level, and I mean pure function, one of these in a box on a table, tuned up right, and you could just set portable electronics nearby to charge them. No cables required. On a larger scale, I don’t know. A whole lot of people will want to shut such a thing down for reasons tied to money.”

  
“You could open source it.”

  
Tony, Loki, and Bruce stopped, looking over at the blonde scientist, who currently did not have the popcorn bowl.

  
“He has a point.” Bruce said.

  
“The board would have my balls on a Hibachi.” Tony replied. “If… IF we could make this and strip out the rare metals, which at this point I am nowhere near fucking guaranteeing, this is a guaranteed money maker. Open sourcing it would rip away the majority of the profit.”

  
“Unless…” Loki was digging into the power pack, muttering. “You made multiple versions with fundamental design differences and released the one that was cheapest and of lowest impact.”

  
“That’s a lot of work. They’d have to be majorly fundamentally different to cover our asses.” Tony sighed, folding his arms and tilting his head back, flipping a small screwdriver between the fingers of one hand. “And I’ll be honest, I cannot even begin to think of all the potential implications such a device would have. The main problem is, this thing is a spin-off of the arc reactor technology. Nowhere near that, it’s not one really, but that raises questions. A lot of them. Like, could the public even handle such a device at this time? Because this kind of tech has the potential to be seriously dangerous. For fucks’ sake we’re designing it for a weapon.”

  
“Wait, this is an arc reactor?” Loki looked up, then looked down at what he was working on.

  
“No. Not properly. But a lot of the major components are the same, and may I remind you I am now licensed by the NRC. They are touchy about their listed materials and devices and when you start discussing vibranium, well…” Tony sighed and scratched the back of his head. “And the problem is, I’m not sure it’d work without such a powerful metal in the core. Why do you think we kept blowing shit up the last few days?”

  
“A fabulous invention that no one can use.” Loki stared down at it.

  
“Now that’s not strictly true.” Tony stared off. “If we scale it up, and keep it away from the military, which will be a challenge unto itself but I don’t do DoD anymore…”

  
Bruce blinked, then looked at him. “Holy shit. Are we talking space travel here?”

  
“Well, I’m not going to start drawing up plans for a USS Enterprise but… yeah. Barnard’s Star project if nothing else.” Tony rubbed his face, looking at Bruce with an unreadable expression. “You excited?” He paused, looking at the scientists. “Stop. This one isn’t even working yet.”

  
“Cart before horse.” Loki said, shaking his head.

  
“There’s already plans for the Enterprise. Multiple Enterprises.” Said one of the scientists. “Just saying.”

  
“I generally only watch Star Trek while very drunk.” Tony replied.

  
“Blasphemy.” Bruce said.

  
“That reminds me, we need to have a Star Wars marathon sometime soon for Loki’s sake.”

  
That made the other man pause, seriously considering. “All six or the proper first three?”

  
“Let’s not even start that discussion.” Tony shook his head, and watched Loki play with the rendered version. “You find something?”

  
“I think we crosswired something in concept to physical but it also seems to be working in spite of it so…” Loki rubbed his eyes, and shoved it over to Tony. “I think we need to cut back on the coffee.”

  
“HIGHLY unlikey.”


	15. Chapter 15

By the time Steve arrived with Christine and the photographer on the lab levels, Pepper following as well out of some vague paranoia, the power pack had been reassembled and Jarvis had turned out a test run for Loki’s armor design, which he buckled on over his clothes, Tony helping to load the power pack into it.

  
“This isn’t a whole lot in the way of armor.” Tony said, trying not to worry. “You’re not bulletproof anymore, Loki, this needs to actually protect you.”

  
“I need to be able to move.” Loki replied, but smiled gently under the concern. “We’ll work it out, Stark, do not worry.” His eyes flicked to the doorway, seeing the camera pointing his way, so he flicked his hair out his eyes, stepping back to the cleared area in his lab and flexing his hands. They didn’t have a control scheme for the power source yet, unfortunately, so he took a combat stance, holding the staff out in front of him horizontal, assembled into one staff for the time being. “Okay, kick it on, Jarvis.”

  
He felt a pulse and flare of heat at the small of his back, dance down his arm, and the staff lit up in dayglow neon. He grinned, watching it, flipping the staff through his fingers and watching the energy dance and vibrate in the air. “Stark.”

  
“Jarvis, please tell me you’re recording this.” Tony was saying, one hand at his chin, eyes wide.

  
“From multiple angles sir.”

  
“Good. How’s it feel Loki?”

  
Loki glanced around and his eyes lit on one of the sturdy metal cabinets full of tools. “Like magic.” That said he stepped and swung, cackling in glee as the staff hit the cabinet and cut it like butter, sparks showering as the staff came out the far end in a burst of momentum, neon color flicking away right after.

  
“Pack powered down.” Jarvis said.

  
“Oh my god.” Pepper said, staring.

  
Tony walked over, staring at the diagonal cut made to the tool cabinet as it slouched apart, Snap On tools slipping to the floor. The cut edges were still glowing hot, cooling down as he watched. “Shit.” He looked at Loki, who was bouncing on his toes a bit, holding the staff at his side loosely. “I’d say it works.”

  
“I should point out that the pack recharges itself, but constantly leaving the effect on drains it quickly.” Jarvis said. “I estimate twenty to thirty seconds of constant use before the effect would kick off, and the pack would need up to a minute to recharge again.”

  
“So it’ll constantly cycle.” Tony was looking at the cabinet again. “I had that issue with the Mark I reactor, though, not enough power for sustained large actions.”

  
“So I don’t leave it constantly on.” Loki replied. “It is also a perfect blunt force weapon. I’ll turn it on and off in split second intervals for strikes and that is it.”

  
“That’s a pretty fine line of control.” Bruce said. “You’d need some kind of HUD or other kind of control. Eyetwitch or something.”

  
“We’ll work with it.” Tony replied. “But I think that’s it for today, Loki, we need some time for implications to set in and coffee to wear off before we electrocute you again.”

  
“I will agree to that.” Loki nodded.

  
“You electrocuted Loki?!” Pepper demanded.

  
They all looked at her, Loki and Tony swallowing. “Uh, not on purpose?” Tony finally said.

  
“Oh my god.” She didn’t even care she was repeating herself, burying her face in her hands.

  
“Well, I think we’re sleeping on the couch tonight.” Loki said. Tony rubbed his face with one hand and muttered something about screw the couch I have guest rooms for a reason.

  
“Wow, uh, did you guys forget we’re here?” The photographer asked.

  
“Craig. I swear to god.” Christine laughed. “Well, Stark, you said you’d give us a tour of the labs, are you still too busy?”

  
“No, I can make some time right now.” He glanced at the trio of scientists. “Stick around, I kind of want to get drunk and talk about spaceships later. You’re invited.” That said, he paced back to the elevator, taking Christine and Craig the photographer with him and using that as a starting point, giving them a basic walkthrough of the labs. Everyone else stayed in Loki’s lab, Bruce and Loki trying to explain to Steve and Pepper what exactly they’d built and why.

  
Really, there wasn’t much detail he could go into. There was simply too much here that should not be in the news yet. Designs nowhere near press release, proprietary equipment and information. But he had a nice speech that was of great use for such moments, so he used it, taking them through the main floor and the other lab floors, and letting them take a glance into manufacturing (which was currently mostly dark and still, at the moment).

  
“Well, that was some bullshit.” Christine said afterward. “That was a rehearsed speech.”

  
“Yes, yes it was.” Tony said. “And it’s still more than any other press has gotten, because no press has been allowed into my private labs before.”

  
“So, since I have you separate… may I ask you some questions?”

  
He shrugged, stepping back out of the elevator and turning into his part of the lab. From the sound, everyone else was still down the hall. “You can try. I promise nothing.”

  
“What takes up the majority of your time these days?”

  
“On days when I’m not deploying as Ironman? Research and development. That’s common knowledge.” Tony tossed a hand.

  
“Do you miss being in charge of Stark Industries?”

  
“Not really. Pepper’s better at it, and I’m doing what I love here.”

  
She paused, pursing her lips slightly. “You know, at that party in Malibu I ran into several women who were quite disappointed that you’ve changed so much.”

  
“That doesn’t sound like an interview question.” He was at his screens, looking at them and not at her. “And changed how? Because most of the ways I’ve changed have been seen as positive.”

  
“Specifically your playboy ways. Apparently, that’s over.”

  
He looked at her, trying not to glare and failing. “That’s been over since Afghanistan, Christine.” He paused. “Actually, you know what? I’m going to give you the chance at a picture no one else will have. It’ll answer that question. Then I want you to fuck off. We clear?”

  
She pursed her lips again. “Crystal, but it better be good for that attitude.”

  
He rolled his eyes. “Jarvis, dim the lights and get ready to run a diagnostic. Blur out sensitive numbers and data.”

  
“Understood sir.” The lights turned down and the wire frame table lit up, waiting.

  
Tony took off his shirt and pointed at Craig for a second, then shifted and sat side saddle on the table, reaching down with a grunt and unsocketing the reactor, turning in his hands and holding it up, letting the hole in his chest be obvious and the wires as the diagnostic ran on the wire frame table. He looked at it and not them, but he heard the camera shutter going. It lasted less than a minute, then he had jacked the reactor back in, breathing out a sigh once it was settled, the lights coming back up as he put his shirt back on.

  
“Jesus, Tony.” Christine said after a second.

  
“So. Now you know.” He shut off the table and went up the hall, leaning in the doorway and smiling in spite of himself. The three scientists, whose names he still didn’t know he realized, were crowded around Loki’s wireframe table, talking fast with him and Bruce. Steve was sitting with Pepper on the vacated stools, both wearing an expression he knew well: amused resignation. Pepper often said people without degrees in incomprehensible science might as well just not visit the labs if work was going on.

“Steve? We’re through with the lab tour.”

  
“Ah.” Steve hopped off the stool. “I’ll see them out.”

  
“I’m sure you will. Thank you, I do owe you one.” He smiled again when Steve just patted his near shoulder as he walked by, rejoining Christine and Craig and heading for the elevator. “I’m glad that’s over with.”

  
“You are the one that invited her you know.” Bruce pointed out.

  
“Yeah, I know. I just hate the fucking pity in her eyes. I don’t need that shit.” He kissed Pepper on the forehead, nuzzled in for a second, then stepped over to join the wireframe table, looking at what was displayed. “This is one of yours isn’t it Bruce?”  
“Yeah, the armor alloys project.” Bruce said. “I kind of like these guys.”

  
“I’m just going to say no, you can’t appropriate scientists from another Stark lab.” Pepper said.

  
Bruce, Loki, and Tony all looked at her.

  
“Why the hell not?” Tony wanted to know.

  
“For starters do you even know their names?” She wanted to know. “For seconds, they already HAVE jobs, and probably lives.”

  
“We’re engineers, ma’am, we don’t have lives.” Said the blonde.

  
“Blasphemy.” Tony said. “So what ARE your names?”

  
They went through their introductions and Tony only bothered remembering first names. Brett was the blonde, the one who’d been ballsy enough to actually attempt to contribute to the conversations. The other two were Tyler, and Aaron. Fair enough.  
“So, who’s up for drunk pseudo-science in the rumpus room? Been a while.” Tony said.

  
“Apparently because this is new to me.” Loki said.

  
“Sometimes when we’re in good moods we take a laptop and wire frame mat upstairs, pick something lame, and see what we can do with it.” Bruce said. “Last time, I think we designed ridiculous fortresses as inspired by movies. You know, bottom of the sea, under an island, in a volcano, in Antarctic ice…”

  
“I’m in.” Brett said. “You said spaceships?”

  
“Well, given this thing…” Tony picked up Loki’s demo armor, feeling the power pack in it. “Why not? Between this and arc reactor technology you could easily power a spaceship for long periods of time. Of course it being a pseudo-science discussion the shuttle will be nowhere near the conversation you understand.”

  
“Awesome.” Brett grinned ear to ear.

  
“Well, this works for me because since I got interrupted by Miss Everhart I still have some work to finish up.” Pepper walked over, kissing Tony’s forehead then Loki’s. “You boys have fun, and try to keep Tony from drinking too much, he’s still supposed to be cutting back.”

  
“I haven’t been drunk in what, three months.” Tony protested. “Personal records, woman.”

  
“Point stands.” She patted his cheek and clicked out of the lab, smiling.

  
“I’ll grab a wire frame mat, want to get a laptop and maybe a tablet too?” Bruce said to Loki.

  
“Certainly.”

* * *

 

An hour later, Tony was three drinks in and the entire strange, tangential conversation was being broadcast all over the internet. Live streaming, Tony had told Loki, basically hooking the live camera feeds to some place on the internet where everyone could go and watch what was happening. One of the two laptops, which sat back to back on the coffee table, was showing the result of this, a crushing number of people dog piling in to watch Tony Stark and company talk space ships.

  
Logic, common sense, and reality had been thrown out the window. The Wardenclyffe design was verboten for now, was not to be discussed because Tony remarked before turning on the internet cameras that talking about such a thing in public had to wait for some papers to be written and some media announcements. So they talked about theoretical far ends for it, and tore apart space ships from movie fiction, putting together theoretical space ship designs. Engine design, the idea of artificial gravity, the idea that humans needed some creature comforts or they’d lose their damn minds.

  
Loki was having a hell of a good time but in the back of his mind, he kept thinking back to the Rainbow Road, and Heimdall, and how much easier that all seemed. Sure, they’d had to find another route back to Earth (they had eventually found one of the secret routes he took). But all this? The level of care for a mortal to consider going into space was insane. Of course, it had long been determined that the technology of Asgard was not yet for Midgard. So he brushed aside the different tech he was familiar with and let himself get lost in the conversation.

  
Because Tony and Bruce, Tony riding the line between tipsy and drunk (“cutting back has made it curiously easy for me to get drunk”) and Bruce just drinking tea and trying to keep Tony on topic, were really entertaining to watch and listen to once they got on a tear about something. And the three scientists, who all looked like they were wondering if they were dreaming, piled in as they could.

  
Eventually Steve showed up, smiling, and stopped when he saw this. “What did I just walk into?”

  
“Awesome, Captain America has afterglow! Good to know that patriotic women exist.” Said Tony, lifting his mostly full (forth) glass. “Come join us, we’re talking about space ships!”

  
“How many bottles in is he?” Steve wanted to know, but got a draft beer from the bar and walked over. Loki leaned and lifted an eyebrow at the video stream website, watching the viewer count scale up again.

  
“Pfft, bottles, this is drink number four.” Tony replied. “I’m cutting back remember?”

  
“The internet appreciates Steve’s ass.” Loki observed, watching the chat stream.

  
“Who doesn’t appreciate Steve’s ass?” Tony wanted to know. “Just saying.”

  
Steve lifted an eyebrow. “The internet.”

  
“Is watching us talk about space ships. Now sit the hell down.” Tony tugged at Steve’s arm, who relented and claimed a free chair, dragging it closer to the coffee table. The wire frame mat now had multiple displays going, Tony had basically arranged different screens to switch between at will, the concept ship that was coming together, bits and pieces of it in detail, the fictional ships they were tearing apart.

  
“Wow, you guys have been busy.” He took a drink of his beer, peering at the displays. “Can we add a second wire frame mat to this, split it up a bit?” When everyone else blinked, he rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “Seriously, guys?”

  
“See, this is why I like Steve around when we do this. He’s grounding.” Tony said to Bruce.

  
Loki snorted and set down his brandy, standing up. “I’ll get it, Tony would get lost on the way to the lab anyway.”

  
“Love you too princess.” Tony laughed and offered him a single digit salute as Loki walked to the elevator.

  
Loki grinned the entire elevator ride down to the labs, watching the lights kick back on as he walked in, scratching his head and trying to figure out where a second mat would be. “Jarvis?”

  
“There’s one in a cabinet in your lab, Mr. Laufeyson.”

  
“Thank you.” He walked down to his lab and stood in the doorway for a moment, looking at the armor on his work table and remembering the kick and surge of warmth, and feeling of victory that it was working. He grinned again, going through a few cabinets and finding the rolled up mat, propping it on one shoulder and looking at the staff propped on the work table, leaning forlornly.

  
Great, now he was thinking inanimate objects got lonely. But he was surrounded by inanimate objects that spoke back, so maybe that was why. No reason not to bring it, he decided, he wanted to show it to Steve anyway. So he stepped over, extending a hand, and the staff leapt the final meter to his hand, settling there with familiarity and finality.

  
He jumped and dropped the mat, staring at the staff in his hand in confusion but not letting it go, feeling fire coursing in his veins, familiar but… not exactly. Not entirely. He turned his eyes inward, and found the spark he’d felt before, left in him, left behind when Odin had ripped his magic away. Instead he found a fire, not the bonfire he’d once had but a healthy hearth, waiting to lick up his spine and get used. He sat heavily on one of the leather stools, letting the staff lean against his shoulder and chest, tilting his head back and shutting his eyes. His mental spellbook was still gone, but the tatters, the hint that something had been there and been torn apart, was gone as well. Now he had a clean waiting desk and a bright light, and… a screen, waiting. Empty canvas, waiting to be used. The promise of something. The words were gone. The spells, the runes, years of study and work, gone, but there was the promise of something, a gleam, fire burning banked. What was this?

  
So he stood back up and put the staff on the work table, and put a hand a foot above it, willing it to come back to his hand. Nothing. He blew a sigh out his nose and closed his eyes. It had come to his hand, not seconds ago. It was not chance. He’d wanted it and it had come. His brother could call Mjolnir back to his hand at will. So why wasn’t it working now?

  
He opened his eyes and shook his head, retrieving the mat and putting it back on his shoulder, staring at the staff. “I suppose you need a name.” He said quietly, out loud. “After all, even dogs need a name if you desire to call them and you are far more significant.” The staff, an untold wealth in rare metals of Midgard, lay silent on the table. He shook his head, turned to walk away, and stopped in the doorway, holding a hand out behind him. “Please.”

  
And with a rattle as it rolled on the table, it snapped through the air, landing in his hand.

  
He was going to need a long time to figure out the mechanics of this, because it probably wasn’t asking nicely that had let it happen again. Either way, he felt his thumb rubbing back and forth on the staff as he walked back to the elevator and took it back up to the penthouse. It wasn’t going to get left in the lab again if he had anything to say about it. That said, this seemed precisely the wrong time to tell the others that his magic was finding its way back to him, through different paths.

  
Loki honestly wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh in ecstasy because it was so welcome and so familiar, because Odin couldn’t tear it away from him, or howl in pain because everything he’d spent so long learning was still gone from him. So he put on a small smile to cover his distress as he stepped out of the elevator, the mat still propped on his shoulder and the staff in his hand at his side. “Did I miss anything good?”

  
“Artificial gravity, pipe dream or not?” Bruce wanted to know, pushing his glasses up.

  
“I’d say not but Asgard technology is not applicable here.” He clicked his tongue, passing the mat to Bruce to set up. “Hey, Steve, we got this in today.” He held up the staff.

  
“Oh hey.” Steve left his beer on the coffee table and stood, stepping over and holding out a hand, so Loki passed it over. Steve weighed it, then checked the balance, watching the lights gleam over it. “Not vibranium.”

  
“Vibranium core, adamantium over.” Loki replied. “So far, it’s working beautifully but we’ll have to wait for a real combat test.”

  
“A friend of mine shot at me to prove my shield.” Steve swallowed the laugh at the memory, feeling the joint with his thumb. “How does this come apart again?”

  
Loki showed him and smiled when Steve seemed much more comfortable with the two shorter lengths, wielding them almost like nightsticks, stepping through a few motions with them. “She needs a name, I think.”

  
“She?” Tony said, twisted on the sofa with his arms folded on the top, chin resting on his arms and watching Steve move.

  
“The staff.” Loki clarified.

  
Tony blinked slowly. “Wouldn’t a staff be male?”

  
“What are we talking about, now?” Brett asked, confused. “Gender pronouns for weapons?”

  
“Well, yeah, in other languages everything is male or female. La and El in Spanish, you know?” Tyler said.

  
“Does your shield have a name?” Loki asked Steve, watching him move with the staves.

  
“Jesus, Steve. There are cameras on you right now you remember that right?” Tony said.

  
“Well, they like the show.” Bruce said, looking at the consensus of the internet.

  
“The internet can be placated for days with streaming video of puppies.” Brett pointed out.

  
“My shield does have a name. It’s… a long story.” Steve stopped and reconnected the staff, offering it back to Loki. And Loki honestly meant to just take it normally, but it leapt back to his hands instead. “Wow. What the hell was that?”

  
“I, uh. Not something to discuss right now.” Loki made a frantic waving motion at throat level, and Steve got the message. Tony lifted an eyebrow. “Back to the topic at hand I think.”

  
“So is your suit male or female then?” Brett wanted to know, looking at Tony.

  
“Is that a trick question?” Tony replied. “It’s male.”

  
“All due respect, Mr. Stark, but you do have a record of… eccentricity.” Brett snickered, drinking his beer.

  
“I have no intention of changing gender anytime soon.” Jarvis’ lofty voice said from above. “And I am part of the suit, particularly the suit HUD.”

  
“You tell’em Jarvis.” Tony smirked, watching the second wire frame mat boot fully up as Bruce jockeyed the contents of the coffee table for space. That done he reached over and batted displays from the first mat to the second, leaving the concept ship on one and putting everything else on the other one for the time being. “Where were we?”

  
“Artificial gravity.” Said Steve, sitting back down.

  
Loki hopped the back of the couch and sat, leaning the staff on the arm of the sofa, watching and listening for a few moments before trying to get back into the conversation. The quiet fire inside him could wait, for now at least.

* * *

 

Eventually it was all shut down, the internet stream stopped, the computers and wire frame mats shut off, everyone sent to bed. The three scientists were stuck in empty intern housing for the time being, everyone else retreating to respective apartments, some just tired, others tired and also drunk.

  
“Seriously I haven’t been this wasted since a couple months before you got back.” Tony was saying as they stepped into the apartment, Loki still carrying the staff. Tony hadn’t asked, and Loki was glad.

  
“You are amusing drunk but I think I like you better sober.” Loki snickered, pulling him in and kissing him softly before leaning their foreheads together. “If I try to show you something will you not freak out?”

  
“This whatever you did upstairs? That thing just… falling into your hands?” Tony said, nodding at the staff.

  
“Yeah, I… I’m not sure how this works yet.” Loki stepped away and ended up placing the staff in a corner of the room, shifting to stand maybe fifteen feet away from it. Naturally it didn’t return to him and he was about to give up, frustrated and furious, when the magic burned back down his arm and he caught the staff so violently he was jolted back a few feet.

  
“Shiiit.” Tony said, watching this. “Is that fucking telekinesis?”

  
“I’m not sure yet.” Loki replied honestly, rolling the staff between his palms then setting one end on the ground, leaning his forehead against it. “This… this isn’t like what I had, before.”

  
“But it is magic?”

  
“Yes. It feels like it.” He looked at Tony, brow wrinkling. “This doesn’t scare you?”

  
“Pft. Loki, I love you. Short of you going batshit bonkers and trying to murder us all again, you’re not going to scare me off and I think if that happened I’d be the one sitting on you while they change your medication.” Tony flipped a hand in midair, not even seeming to notice what he’d just admitted out loud or Loki’s expression about it. “Find a spot for your new best friend to go and let’s go to bed, I’m about to drop, I’m not even kidding.”

  
“I’m beginning to understand what Steve said about you being flippant about serious things.” Loki said this very quietly, staring at him. When Tony just looked at him, drunk and a bit confused, he sighed and set the staff on the couch, crossing over and hugging Tony close again to speak into his ear. “I’ll believe your admittance of emotions when you say them sober, Stark, you know that.”

  
“You sayin’ the booze is talking?” Tony’s voice was languid. “Because the booze also says you’re gorgeous. More so naked. Can that be arranged?”

  
“Okay, yes, it is time for you to sleep.” Loki couldn’t help but laugh, dragging him into bedroom and giving him a gentle shove toward the bathroom. Tony staggered a bit but caught himself, and took the hint, moving to get ready for bed. Loki sat on the end of the bed and waited, smiling anyway.

  
Accidentally electrocuted or not, today was a good day.


	16. Chapter 16

Loki sat at his work table, working on something small and fiddly. Tony wasn’t paying attention to it honestly, and he should have been, but he was too busy watching Loki’s internal conversation. It showed on his face, the wrinkled brow and that fucking eyebrow thing, yeah he was working on something delicate but there was a strong undercurrent, here.

  
“Stark, are you going to stare at me all day?” He asked without looking up, holding his hand out to one side, reaching for a tiny screwdriver, which skittered across the table and came to his hand.

  
“Yes, I think I am.” Tony admitted, slouched in one of his big leather computer chairs, nursing a mug of coffee. The hangover had thankfully already left, hell it hadn’t even been a bad one. Tony knew hangovers. Was probably one of the world’s leading experts on them, when he hadn’t spent years avoiding them by generally being constantly a bit drunk.

  
“I know you have work to do.” Loki turned to the computer, lifting his hands and flicking one to turn the keyboard on. Mostly a standard keyboard but it was slowly changing as he spent time here. Tony’s keyboards were the most abstract of the bunch, by far. Bruce’s had a whole extra row of chemical symbols and related things. The laser mouse came up into Loki’s hand, and he swore gently before setting it down with his hand still on it.

  
“Yeah, but you’re gorgeous and this is fascinating.” Tony be responsible when Loki had good shit going on? Pfft. Also, pigs were going to fly. And it’d been a while since he just sat and… watched Loki. Not in a creepy sense, just appreciated who and what the other man was to him. “Can you not turn it off?”

  
“It’s... well, not exactly…” Loki gnawed on his lower lip, watching programming run down his screen, not his forte by far. “Jarvis, do I have your support on this?”

  
“Of course, Mr. Laufeyson, I’m putting the final touches on it now.”

  
“It’s more I don’t know what turns it on.” Loki finally said. What had once been his mental spell book now had strange symbology and diagrams on the empty table. He honestly wasn’t sure what was going on, yet. “If I think about it, focus on it, it seems not to work about half the time. But if I’m not thinking about it, it happens, but sometimes when I don’t want or need it to.” He held up a small red-tinted lens to the light, holding it by its edges. Tony could see metal contacts on various points of the rim of it. “The only thing I can seem to call consistently, at this moment, is my staff, and even that does not work every time.”

  
“Are you really going to name your staff?” Tony canted his head to one side slightly.

  
“Yes. My brother has Mjolnir, which comes to his hand when he desires. It seems the proper thing to do. Besides, are your suits not named?”

  
“It’s more a version code. Shows what generation the suit is. Same thing with my reactors.” He took another drink of his coffee, then jumped when Loki reached for something on the other side of the table and apparently fucked up his aim because of his tool cabinets toppled over instead, to a cacophony of noise. “Shit, dude, I’m awake!”

  
Loki moaned and set his forehead to the table.

  
“Are you guys okay down there?” Bruce’s voice came down the hall.

  
“Yeah, we’re okay, Loki’s just knocking shit over.” Tony called back. “Unintentionally.” He stood to help Loki right the tool cabinet. Half the drawers had been locked shut, the rest had dumped out, and he sighed at the mess of tools. “I’ll pass them up you get them in the right drawers.” He sat on the floor and started passing tools up, aiming to get sets as he could so Loki wouldn’t have to constantly open and close drawers hunting for the proper labeled spots. “Any ideas for names then?”

  
“Mm. None.” Loki admitted, reaching down and ruffling through Tony’s hair, then accepting another handful of tools.

  
Tony leaned into the attention happily. “Well, you could give it a Tesla related name, given the Wardenclyffe Device you’re using. Or, you could do a typical mortal thing and name it after one of your kids.”

  
Loki paused. “Name it after one of my children.”

  
“Sure, like a tribute.” Tony watched one of the tools skip about an inch into Loki’s fingers. Just… fucking fascinating to watch. Even if it hashed with absolutely no science as he understood it. Hell it was probably breaking several laws he couldn’t be bothered to think about.

  
Loki stayed silent, fingers scruffing into Tony’s hair again. The shorter man had gotten a haircut once they’d come back from Malibu but honestly it didn’t seem to have fixed the problem. It’d gotten to the point where he thought Tony looked funny with his hair done. It was like the inventor needed the slightly chaotic, finger demanding curls. That said, name the staff after one of his children? He… didn’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about them. It was a painful thing. Sleipnir was well cared for, but Fenrir, well. He had no way of knowing and no way to see either of them again. Probably for the best, because the likelihood of them recognizing their parent was low, with him in this body.

  
Tony snaked one of his arms around one of Loki’s legs, hand coming to rest just above one of the knee, looking up at him. “Talk to me.”

  
“Fenrir.” Loki said, looking away, hand still in Tony’s hair. Tony just blinked, so he held out a hand and the staff skipped to it, and he slid a hand partly down the length. “Fenrir.” The metal hummed under his hands, and he smiled and leaning to put the staff leaning against the tool cabinet, looking at Tony and lifting an eyebrow at him.

  
“Hey, this is very much your choice.” Tony said, staying where he was and offering another handful of tools up. “Though I kind of want to hear those stories, someday soon.”

  
“Someday soon.” Loki agreed, taking the tools and racking them into the proper places, smiling a bit. A few minutes of silence passed, and they ran out of tools but Tony didn’t move, momentarily content where he was, leaning on one of Loki’s legs. “Hey, Stark.”

  
“Yeah?” Tony tilted his head up, almost looking at Loki upside down.

  
“You said something last night while you were deep in drink.”

  
“Oh, I said a lot of things according to the internet.” Tony snickered, tugging gently on Loki’s leg, hoping to get him to sit down on the floor with him but Loki resisted. It was true though, Jarvis had brought up the highlights for him. Only a few dozen news stories talking about it, something from NASA and the people behind Space X, and fucking Joss Whedon since they’d spent probably twenty minutes discussing the Serenity. And a lot of enterprising people had caught the stream and put together little videos. Jarvis was working on a highlights reel but the internet was doing that for them it seemed. Steve with the staves was popular. Loki and Bruce singing Lady Gaga while framing something out. An amusing little video with highlighted text showing who was who and drink counters next to the names had made him snort because the creator was thoughtful enough to provide estimated BAC. Tony and the scientists had gone three sheets to the wind, Loki mildly tipsy, Steve didn’t feel it at all, and Bruce didn’t drink.

  
Loki’s hand in Tony’s hair stilled. “You don’t remember.”

  
“No, I do remember most of it.” Tony replied but started skipping time up in his memory, because the night blurred progressively, and he knew he got loose lipped when drinking because the filter between his brain and mouth, which was admittedly crappy anyway, tended to all out fail after three or four hard drinks. Pepper had spent most of her career repairing drunk Tony gaffes.

  
“You said you love me.” Loki’s voice tightened, on the edge of breaking.

  
Tony blinked once, waiting for those mental data banks to come online. “Wow. I was drunk.” Then he heard what he said as Loki snarled and tried to back away from him, and he swore, keeping his hold on Loki’s leg and letting combat training kick in, bringing Loki to the ground with him and wincing when the taller man hit the floor pretty hard, but lunging forward to grab him anyway, ending up straddling over him and holding his shoulders as Loki tried to push him away. “No, no. Don’t do this. Let me back that up.”

  
“Why should I?” Loki’s voice was a hiss, bright green eyes full of agony.

  
“Because I am a fucking moron and I don’t do emotions well. Because what I just said does not mean what you think.” He struggled to keep Loki down, ending up shoving him the rest of the way down and lacing their hands together. “No. Please.”

  
Loki growled again, yanking his hands out of Tony’s and propping himself up on his elbows. “You have one minute and this rewrite better borderline on fucking poetry, Stark.”

  
Tony sighed and leaned forward, leaning their foreheads together and wincing when he was growled at again. Right, fragile goods, Loki was fragile goods, shit, shit. “I have a really hard time speaking about emotion, okay? I always have. It’s just… it never comes out right, it never comes out at all, it’s always been easier to deflect. It’s one of the reasons I spent so many years alone and why it took so long for me to admit anything to Pepper and even then I did a pretty good job of screwing it up. The only reason it even worked was because she knows me better than I know me and then I had to go and nearly die to come close to fucking it up again.” He felt some of Loki’s jitters stop, and took a deep breath. “When I said that yeah, wow, I was drunk, it was not an admittance of a lie, okay? But I have to be pretty far into the bottle for that shit to just come out like that.”

  
Loki stared at him for a long moment, willing to believe every bit of that was true, and ended up sighing and hanging his head. “You don’t remember saying it, do you.”

  
“Nope.” Tony admitted, wrapping his arms around Loki’s shoulders and burying his face into Loki’s neck, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry.”

  
Loki sighed and shifted to sit up fully, wrapping his arms around the inventor’s shoulders and feeling him sigh in relief. “Forgiven.”

  
Thank you whatever fucking gods are real, Tony thought. Fine, thank you Thor. Did that count? Close enough. Either way he stayed where he was, nearly sitting in Loki’s lap, just breathing for a moment before turning his head a touch to talk into Loki’s ear, hoping like hell the words would come out right. “I love you. I want you in my bed for the rest of my life. I want to keep waking up with you, and Pepper, because it’s perfect and it works. You make us happy.”

  
Loki let out a shuddering breath, eyes closing and swallowing hard. “I’m not going anywhere, Tony.”

  
“Good.” He didn’t push, he knew better, instead settling on pulling back just enough to kiss Loki instead, relieved when it was returned, keeping it gentle before letting it ease out, leaning their faces together. “Probably we should get off the floor.”  
“Yes, I was trying to get something done.” Loki snickered. Tony stood up and pulled him to his feet easily. “You fight dirty, Stark.”

  
“Mixed martial arts.” Tony shrugged, smiling a bit.

  
“So, if I take all of what you said at your word…” Loki stepped back over to his table, picking up his own coffee mug and taking a long gulp. “Then why is whatever it is between you and Bruce just casual fact? You admitted your feelings for him like it was talking about the weather, and may I add you did this while I was in your bed for the first time.”

  
“Yeah, that’s become a different situation.” Tony took a drink of his own coffee, sitting back down. “Bruce came to the tower right after everything. It took me months to come to terms with what exactly was going on and he had to shut me down. So, yeah. It is just fact. I think we’re kind of settled about it. He knows I care, I know he cares, we’re at arm’s length from each other. Life goes on.”

  
“There are times I think I understand you, and there are times when I realize I’ve understood about one facet of a jewel.” Loki shook his head, returning to his project.

  
“Are those sunglasses?” Tony said, leaning to look at what Loki was working on.

  
“I started these on the side about two weeks ago. I’ve had to revise them a few times, but I think I’ve worked out the kinks. Give me a bit, I’ll let you try them on so you can tell me what you think.”

  
“Well… Okay.” And they were right back to where they were, Loki working and working around and with the unpredictable twitches of his magic, Tony watching.

* * *

 

It was a few hours later and Tony had retreated to his workspace, because Bruce was wanting help and he’d decided he probably should get something done today, or Pepper would give him one of those not-disappointed-but-seriously looks that always made him feel like a less than responsible adult. Bruce was still pushing forward with the armor project, which was actually a SHIELD project, and part of what was hampering them was that SHIELD took their time approving anything. And when you had a project that could go multiple directions and you weren’t being told which direction to chase after, it was frustrating.

  
But it got some other part of his brain thinking about Loki’s armor and revamping it. He knew armor. He’d spent quite a bit of time now preventing himself from getting shot, and he understood that Loki needed high maneuverability, but the guy had done all of what he did in what had probably been thirty pounds of leather and metal. And thirty pounds was a reasonable amount of weight to work with for a high dexterity light armor. He understood what Loki was going for form wise, the flowing sinuous lines the armored jacket had picked up. Loki had style, he could work with that.

  
Then Loki was leaning in the doorway to the workspace Bruce and Tony were in, holding what appeared to be a pair of designer sunglasses with inner ear headphones wrapping around. “Hey.”

  
“Hey, whatcha got?” Tony asked, looking up, and caught them when Loki threw them, studying them. Matte black with red lenses, oddly weighty. “Well, they aren’t really my style, but…” He put them on, tucking the headphones in, and his eyes widened when the inside of the lenses lit up, and something not unlike his suit HUD booted up, detailing out the room and showing Bruce and Loki highlighted as allies. He looked around, watching the display change, grinning when some information popped up. “Oh, wow. These are sexy as hell.”

  
“It occurred to me I wanted something like you had in your suit during battle.” Loki came fully into the room and claimed a rolling stool. “But I didn’t desire to deal with a full helm. Sizing down was required. It is not nearly as detailed and complicated as what you have, but it seems functional.”

  
“Headphones for talking to the rest of us? Jarvis, are you in here?” Tony wanted to know.

  
“I am not, but I have the ability to connect to them and provide information.” Jarvis’ voice said into his ears. “I assisted Mr. Laufeyson with an, ahem, skeletonized version of your HUD software.”

  
Tony quirked an eyebrow, looking along the top edge of one lens and seeing menu options. Focusing on it brought it up, and he lifted both eyebrows at a bunch of greyed out options. “Oh, wow, you’re setting this up as the controller for your Wardenclyffe Device. Seriously fucking sexy, Loki, if this works we’ll be putting everyone else in some version of these.”

  
Loki laughed, relieved and delighted and blushing a bit. “The lenses are still a bit fragile, but the ‘safety’ type lenses don’t respond at all to what I need them to.”

  
“We can work on that.” Tony took them off and handed them to Bruce. Bruce took his glasses off and put them on, also lifting an eyebrow a second later. “What’s powering it?”

  
“It’s on an emergency battery right now. Might last six to eight hours. It’s meant to run off the Wardenclyffe.” Loki replied. “It’s such a minimal draw it shouldn’t be a problem, I hope.”

  
“Which one of us is going to write up that paper, by the way?” Bruce said, one hand in midair, tapping imaginary buttons. Loki smirked at him because Bruce had found an options menu Tony hadn’t.

  
“If you mean a paper drawn up for publication around the ‘Wardenclyffe Device’ power pack in Loki’s armor, I have taken the liberty of starting to draw up the basics.” Jarvis said on the overhead. “This will streamline the process and allow one of you to finish it up in a matter of days instead of weeks.”

  
“Thank you Jarvis.” Tony smiled a bit. “Hey, Loki. Your armor. Let me work on it.”

  
“Stark.” Loki gave him a look.

  
“Yes, I know you want to design your own gear, but let me help. I promise I’ll keep to your style and decisions and keep your movement unrestricted. Deal?”

  
The taller man considered, then nodded. “Deal.”

  
“I want to see how these work when integrated.” Bruce said, one eyebrow still a bit quirked, waving a hand to dismiss the menus he’d ended up in. “I think the firmware needs some work, at the moment. But damn, Loki. It’s a beautiful prototype.”

  
Loki spent the rest of the day grinning.

* * *

 

Tony spent that night blatantly ignoring the movie Pepper and Loki were watching, settling for snuggling against them and working on one of his touchscreen laptops. It was easy to tell “his” laptops from the other ones that littered up the labs and tower: “his” laptops had nonstandard keyboards. And Pepper and Loki were so used to him at this point they didn’t even question, beyond Loki taking up the most ridiculous how-is-that-comfortable-do-you-have-bones sprawled position across Pepper and Tony’s laps because he wanted attention. Tony ended up propping the laptop on one of Loki’s hipbones, working one handed so he could wrap the other arm over Loki (because the taller man got bitchy if he moved it).

  
“You’re seriously like owning a cat.” Tony remarked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Loki just purred and didn’t move from Pepper’s lap, and she laughed. He spun the design on his screen, sighing. Loki would want traditionally donned armor, but he was shooting that down on this first attempt, going with a partial Jarvis gear-up and partial traditional donning. Probably Loki would have a fit at him but hell, prototypes were just that, so he hit the go button, passing the design on to Jarvis. Jarvis put a timer up on the screen and he nodded, shutting the laptop. “What are we watching?”

  
“Fugitive.” Pepper replied.

  
“Okay.” He set the laptop aside and settled in further against them both, wrapping an arm around Pepper and the other around Loki. Loki sighed under his grip, only half awake and watching the movie, and Pepper leaned to kiss Tony’s cheek. So he relaxed out, happy and hoping that any villains in the world continued to try to hibernate through the winter.

* * *

 

Loki wasn’t surprised that less than twenty four hours after he’d agreed to let Tony work with his armor that Tony was throwing things at him to put on. It was first thing in the morning (for them, so more like ten or so, the only time Tony was up early in the morning was if he’d never gone to bed in the first place), he was barely on his first cup of coffee in the lab when he suddenly caught a face full of cloth. “What the FUCK, Stark?”

  
“You’ve got therapy this afternoon which means I want to see if this will work this morning.” Tony replied. “Because if it isn’t going to work I have a lot of revisions to do and I’d rather get these arguments out of the way early.”

  
“You’re anticipating arguments?” Loki suspected that was a stupid question, got his mug out of the line of fire and picked up one of the articles that had hit him in the face. One was a plain longsleeved shirt, and the other was a pair of jeans, almost, not quite, in both the material felt… off. Different, strange, heavy, floating on the edge between silk and leather but clearly designed to be damn near skin tight. “What’s this?”

  
“About thirty grand in fabric.” Tony replied. “One of the armor cloths we’re working with. Shock absorber, puncture resistant. That’s your underarmor, what you’ll wear under your gear. Go change, I’m hoping like hell it fits.”

  
He blinked at Tony a few times, then shrugged, standing up and glaring at the door. It closed with a neat click, and he stripped out of his clothes, changing to the armored clothing and not caring in the slightest that Tony was clearly taking this as his own private show. Loki laced his boots back on after, then crouched experimentally on his toes before standing and twisting. Yeah, damn near skin tight, damn near, heavy and with purpose, but it flexed and stretched in a way that stunned him. So he moved to the open space in his lab and went through a reasonable copy of the stretching he saw Pepper do sometimes (was it called yoga?) and felt the fabric bend to him, barely restrict him.

  
“Okay. Now you’re teasing.” Tony finally said.

  
And all Loki could do was laugh, getting back to his feet. “Well, this is marvelous stuff.”

  
“Not quite bulletproof, but your outer armor is. I’m hoping to keep you at about eighty five percent flexibility.” Tony’s mouth quirked. “But we’ll see how it works. Now come on, let’s get you geared up the rest of the way.” And he hooked a finger into the collar of Loki’s shirt, dragging him down the hallway, barely pausing to let Loki grab his staff.

  
“I did notice the jacket I put together disappeared in the night.” Loki said, almost scolding.

  
“Yep. Hey, Bruce, gearing Loki up.” He called this down the hall, and Bruce appeared, jogging down the hall to join them. The ended up in one of the common lab areas, a machine shop which had a large area painted in caution stripes and waiting robot arms. “Jarvis. We ready to roll?”

  
“Yes, sir, on your command.”

  
“Okay.”

  
“What did you do.” Loki asked, worried he already knew. “Dammit, Stark, I swear…”

  
“Yes, you do, like a sailor, what would your mother say?” And Tony had pulled Loki into the caution stripes and parked him in the center. “Stand right there, don’t move. Jarvis? Gear him up.”

  
The robot arms moved, and Loki froze. He trusted Jarvis. Jarvis didn’t judge, always helped, always was willing to answer any questions. He was all around them, in the tower, on their phones. Jarvis WAS the tower, was practically Stark Industries, he spoke to them all and they spoke back. Jarvis was as much an Avenger as the rest of them, and seemed to take a simple “thank you” as praise enough. And Tony had MADE Jarvis, apparently building the AI to specifically mirror the parts of personality Tony DIDN’T have. Jarvis was the closest thing to biological family Tony had.

  
And Jarvis had moving robotic arms all around him, and all Loki could do was freeze up and stare down at himself and obey mindlessly when Jarvis told him to move in a certain way. It was strange and scary and fascinating as Jarvis buckled him into armor, armored boots and greaves closing on his legs. The greaves went above the knee, they actually cut off mid-thigh, he could feel his knee joints being supported somehow, but before he could think about it Jarvis was telling him to lift his arms and he was laced into some kind of breast plate, then the arms went still and one was silently offering him his jacket (remade, subtly changed), gloves, and sunglasses. Time elapsed? Well under a minute if he were to guess.

  
“What. The fuck.” Loki finally said, catching his balance then taking the proffered jacket, swirling it on. It settled against him, heavier, denser, he could feel the armor in it. He left it open for the moment, getting his hair out from under it then putting the sunglasses on, watching them come online and acknowledge the Wardenclyffe Device, watching the inventions he helped create talk to each other as he stepped forward, feeling the flex of what he was wearing as he donned the gloves, curling his fingers against the material. The gloves were actual leather by the feel, but matched the rest of the outfit flawlessly.

  
“Holy shit, Tony.” Bruce said. “When did you do that?”

  
“Last night while watching the Fugitive.” Tony replied, in that airy just-being-amazing-in-my-spare-time voice he got sometimes.

  
“This is what you were working on?” Loki looked down at himself, then looked around and found the glass of the windows worked well enough as a mirror, stepping closer and staring at himself. Yeah, Tony had clearly reached into what he called the Ironman toy box to outfit Loki, but he’d also clearly departed from it. The armored boots should have been awkward, especially fitting over his motorcycle boots, but they weren’t, he felt like he had a hell of a lot of traction and control. The boots flowed up, attached into the greaves, and he crouched on his toes, feeling the material bend and what looked a lot like a gear on either side of his knee turn to allow this. There was resistance, but not bad, and it felt like newness. Everything needed to be broken in. He could feel the armor in the chest piece, pushing against him just a bit, and something else. “What’s in this chest piece?”

  
“Life support.” Tony replied. “It’s not only armor, it’s a rescue vest. Intelligent armor.”

  
He stood and twisted, feeling the new gear flow around him, the jacket move. It wasn’t nearly as long as the coat he’d once had, over the hips, breaking a few inches below where the greaves did. Closing it up, he found staged zippers, he could zip the entire length or only the waistline up for the sake of movement. Everything was subtle flat black with green accents, and turning in place and looking over his shoulder, he saw the antler crest between his shoulders, in silver and green, understated but there.  
“No man should look that good in a coat cut like that.” Bruce finally said. “Good god, Tony, what was on your mind when you put this together?”

  
“How much does this all weigh?” Loki asked at the same time.

  
“Twenty one pounds, not counting the staff.” Jarvis replied.

  
“Cutting the weight down was hard but you don’t have all of your load out yet.” Tony replied, shrugging helplessly. “I’m shit for knives, but we have Natasha, and she’s probably an expert so I say we ask her to help you for that bit of it. But if you look, I left room for the knives in the jacket and vest.”

  
Loki investigated and found spots waiting for knife holsters, agog again, then reached back and found a different spot in the small of his back, riding at the waistband of his pants below the Wardenclyffe device. “What…”

  
“That’s for a gun.” Tony replied. “Not your thing but I thought I’d put the attachments on the vest anyway and we can switch it easily to a large CQC knife if you want.”

  
Loki stared at him for a long moment, feeling the fire rush up and down his spine once, directionless. “I don’t know whether I should kiss you or kill you, you marvelous man. You know I was trying to do this myself and this…”

  
Tony threw back his head and laughed, long and loud, pride all over his body. “Fuck yes. Glad you like it.”

  
“Well, so far, but I haven’t put it through its paces yet now have I?” Loki quirked an eyebrow.

  
“Everything is beautiful until combat testing.” Bruce smiled a bit.

  
“No shit, and I’m sorry to disappoint but we need to run some diagnostics before we really put this thing through the paces.” Tony said. “We need to make sure those glasses and the Wardenclyffe are talking right for starters…”

  
“Sir, I believe you told me once that you have to run before you can walk. Then launched the first Ironman suit without proper evaluation.” Jarvis said in the overhead, sounding far too smug. “Then tried to break the SR71 record, froze the suit, and nearly killed yourself.”

  
Loki burst into laughter, and Bruce let out a low laugh, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes as he giggled.

  
“… Point taken, Jarvis.” Tony said, not having any idea how to feel about being put in his place by his own AI. “Alright then, since you’re being so on key today, then you’ll have no problem putting together a bunch of targets and setting up the practice space for a formal test run.”

  
“Certainly, sir.”

  
“Formal test run.” Loki repeated, holding out his hand and thinking Fenrir and the staff leapt to his hand easily. “Well, clearly we will have goals then.”

  
“Yeah. We’re going to set you up a bunch of stationary targets, and you get to tear them up in any way you see fit. I know stationary targets aren’t much fun, but the idea is you need to try to get as close to full combat as you can and see if you break anything.” Tony replied. “And see if anything feels off. If seams pop, or the armor rubs, or the weighting needs to be changed.” He was walking around Loki, trying to figure out if he’d gotten the fit right. He’d had the taller man’s measurements from getting him fitted for a suit, and used that as well as a render Jarvis had put together, but reality always had a chance to be a bit off from render. It seemed he’d gotten everything right though. And Loki was smirking at him, that casual predatory expression he could do.

  
“So can this all be removed without Jarvis?”

  
“Yeah, there are releases if necessary.” Tony replied. “It can be donned and doffed without assistance but being at a gear up is just faster and easier. If there’s a call out, you gear up when I gear up, but you’ll catch a plane with the others. Simple.”  
“And the under armor?” Loki quirked an eyebrow.

  
“Well considering how you can get in and out of clothes I’d say they can wait an extra two minutes for you to report fully armored.” Tony replied tartly. “Oh, that reminds me, there’s a setup in the back of the jacket to hold the staff without a holster.”  
He blinked, then reached over his shoulder with the staff and let go, feeling it fit neatly against the back of his jacket and cling there at a diagonal. When he grabbed it, it came away with light resistance. “That’s not going to play havoc with the Wardenclyffe is it?”

  
“It shouldn’t.” Tony watched Loki break the staff down and repeat the motion so the half staves clung diagonal, side by side. “I would like to make sure everything’s working together before the practical though. Hell, even I had Jarvis do a full body check before my first joyride.”

  
“Fair enough. Where do you want to start?”

* * *

 

By the time they were upstairs in the gym and had everything set up, everyone else had showed up to see what was going down. Bruce had already been trailing along, helping Tony set up a few supplemental cameras to catch specifics as a couple robots finished setting up some targets for Loki. Clint, Natasha, and Steve showed up one by one, then Pepper did, looking a bit harried like usual but she had a bento box with her, eating her sushi standing up and watching what was going down.

  
Loki milled about, bored with the entire process because he just wanted to see if it worked, dammit. The glasses were working perfectly with the Wardenclyffe, he’d tested it a few times in the lab and watched the power gauge spin up and down. The eye control seemed to be working. Downside was, if the glasses broke he didn’t have a backup control scheme. Issue for later, he’d decided.

  
“It’s one hell of an armor set though.” Steve said, looking at him.

  
“If it works.” Loki agreed. “So far, it is comfortable for armor, surprisingly low impact. The chest piece is a minor irritation.”

  
“You’ll get over it.” Tony said, standing with a laptop in his hands, looking at the display. Bruce stood next to him, also looking at it. “This is what I do guys. I design armor. I design armor to keep me alive and in case you haven’t noticed I’m rather attached to being alive.” This got a round of snickering.

  
“Sir, Doctor Snitz and Director Fury are in the lobby, shall I bring them up to gymnasium level?” Jarvis asked.

  
“She’s early today.” Loki observed, still pacing back and forth in front of the practice enclosure.

  
“Well, they’re just in time for a show because we are officially set. Yeah, Jarvis, bring them up.” Tony said. “Loki, try not to scare the shit out of Fury.”

  
“Oh but if I didn’t he’d be so disappointed in me.” Loki smirked.

  
Moments later the elevator dinged, and Fury’s voice echoed in the otherwise empty gym. “Stark?”

  
“In the back, Fury.” He replied over his shoulder. “Join the party.”

  
Moments later Fury showed up, looking grouchy as usual, Annette on his heels still brushing snow out of her hair. “Charming weather this city has.”

  
“Yeah, tell me about it, I can’t exactly wear a winter coat when putting on the Ironman suit. Outside. On the roof.” Tony replied, eyes on the screen. “Loki’s suited up and about to demo prototype gear, want to watch?”

  
That brought Fury up short. Loki was still pacing, staff in his hand, smiling in that way he could. Fury gave him the eye, then silently made a continue-on gesture, stepping off to the side to stand near Pepper, arms folded and watching Loki move.  
“Alright, man, at your leisure.” Tony said, looking up from the screen.

  
“Stationary targets? Pfft, less than a minute of time Stark if that.” Loki grinned though.

  
“Then don’t be efficient. Be stylish.” Tony lifted an eyebrow at him, and knew he’d said something right when Loki’s grin widened, stepping into the practice space and shutting the door, pacing to the center of the enclosed space, popping his neck and letting the staff dangle at his side.

  
“Jarvis, I think I need some music.” Loki’s voice was light.

  
“Might I suggest ‘Becoming Insane’ by Infected Mushroom, Mr. Laufeyson?” Jarvis wanted to know.

  
Loki grinned again. “Perfect. Start it up. Loud.” He glanced around, flicking his eyes and marking all the targets on the HUD of the glasses, smirking at how the software was working. The music started, and he nodded along, spinning the staff in front of him and around him, turning the effect on and off and watching the power gauge bounce around, and started moving once the base kicked in on the music.

  
The targets Jarvis had set up were innocuous, really, probably two dozen of the things scattered throughout the enclosure, various materials and shapes, some low to the ground and some in the overhead. The upshot is if he didn’t turn the staff on he could hit most of them multiple times, and he turned it into more of a dance or practice routine than real combat, trying to hit the limit of his mobility, trying to test the limits of this armor. Then he split the staves and started using the effect more, and the targets shredded, cleaved, powdered around him.

  
_Wake me up before I change again remind me of the story that I won’t get insane_  
 _Tell me why it’s always the same explain me the reason why I’m in so much pain_

  
He heard them outside the glass, talking and at some point a raucous cheer when he dove and skidded on his knees, passing under a target and bringing one of the staves to destroy it then rolled smoothly to his feet, looking at the one left in the overhead and getting a running start, bouncing out of a corner of the enclosure and swinging up to the top of the wall, crouching and leaping.

  
And … snap.

  
The world distorted and clicked around him, and he snapped back into being by the target, the fire in him screaming, and he didn’t question, didn’t think, bringing the quarter staves around in a scissors motion and severing the target in half, landing lightly on his toes and falling to a crouch, staves in a ready position and panting as the music eased out. These mortal coils, he fumed, apparently he needed to exercise more.

  
And it was silent outside the enclosure, everyone staring at him.

  
“Everyone else saw that, right? Right?” Clint wanted to know.

  
“Yes, I most certainly did.” Fury said, voice a low roll, clearly trying to control himself. “I imagine that little trick isn’t part of your arsenal, Stark.”

  
“Uh. No. That’s new.” Tony said, already rewinding the video and watching it again.

  
“Is there a problem?” Loki asked, exiting the enclosure, leaving the targets in ruins behind him, reconnecting the staff up. Tony turned the laptop and replayed the video, Loki looked at it and rolled his eyes. “My form is terrible. More practice is necessary. And that’s called teleportation, Stark.”

  
“That’s terrible form?” Natasha wanted to know.

  
“Yes. Do you know how very old I am? Shameful I let my practice slip so much.” Loki lamented, sighing. “At least now I have some proper tools, they will be motivation.”

  
“Let’s go back to the teleportation.” Fury said. “How long’s that been going on?”

  
Loki shrugged. “It is a spell I knew before, if that is what you are asking.” Seeing Fury stare at him, he shrugged, disconnected the staff, and threw the sections in opposite directions away from him. Fury’s stare continued, so he smirked and held his hands open at his sides. Fenrir. And the staves snapped back to his hands easily, and he curled his fingers tight around his weapon, reconnecting it.

  
Tony was mostly watching Loki and recognizing that mood as a prelude to the bed being near destroyed and at least one of his shoulders getting a bruise as a souvenir from it. Which he was more than okay with. That being said, this was not a good attitude to be showing to Fury, and even he knew that. “This is a new development, Fury, if that matters to you. Started a few days ago.”

  
“Yes, it rather fucking matters to me.” Fury wheeled on Tony, stomping over and gesturing at Loki with an open arm. “You really think you can control this, Stark?”

  
“I don’t have to control it.” Tony stared at him. “He does, and he’s working on it.”

  
“Stark speaks the truth, my powers return to me but it sadly in its infancy.” Loki said. “And the mechanics are far different. It is more a hindrance than a help in most things, but it is a learning process.”

  
“What happened to you being mortal?” Fury wanted to know.

  
“I am very mortal, Director Fury, and powers crawling back or not I remain so.” Loki sighed. “I do not know why it is happening. If I were to guess, I would say that what Odin stole from me was not his to take because I am not his blood, or even of his people. I am Laufeyson, I am Jotun, and while I may be in a mortal body my magic always was different than those of Asgard.”

  
“So, you don’t know what it is or why it’s happening, but it’s not dangerous.” Fury’s voice was snide.

  
“No more than any other part of me, I suppose.”

  
“So, pretty damn dangerous but on our side now.” Tony smiled a bit.

  
“Can I be glad about that? Because I’m glad I’ll have that on my side.” Steve nodded at the targets destroyed in the closure.

  
“Why thank you Steve.” Loki smiled.

  
Fury fumed. “What about the off switch on his gear?”

  
“It’s still a prototype, Fury, the armor was made last night.” Tony said.

  
“What?” Loki said at the same time.

  
“As a … condition of allowing me to outfit you, Fury asked that I put an off switch on your gear that someone else can throw as a fail safe.” Tony gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

  
“Well. That’s a bit of a dick move.” The taller man said after a long moment. Pepper about choked on her sushi.

  
“Yes, as if you can blame me.” Fury snapped.

  
“If I may, sirs.” Said Jarvis. “I had control over the Wardenclyffe before the control scheme was implemented and I remain in ultimate control over it, as an emergency override. As a device, it has behaved erratically and I am monitoring it to make sure it will not behave erratically again and further hurt Mr. Laufeyson.” Jarvis’ voice was shaming, as if aghast a machine wouldn’t do what it was told.

  
“That good enough for you?” Tony looked at Fury.

  
“SHIELD will want more direct control, you know that.”

  
“Are these the same asshats that tried to nuke Manhattan, or a different set of asshats?” The inventor canted his head to one side, still holding the laptop.

  
Fury stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. “Point taken, and so far Jarvis is the most responsible thing in this tower.”

  
“Work for you?” Tony looked at Loki.

  
Loki shrugged, open armed. “I hardly have a choice in the matter, and realistically I’m simply happy to be in armor again. It is, as they say, a familiar feeling. Home again, in a strange way.”

  
Fury stared at him for a long moment, then huffed. “Dr. Snitz, you can take him, I need to talk to the rest of these people.”

  
“Yes, sir.” She stepped up. “That is, if you don’t mind our session being a touch early, Loki.”

  
He opened his arms to further display what he was wearing. “Do let me change first.”

  
“Of course.” She agreed, walking with him to the elevator.

  
“All right, the rest of you, we need to talk about something. Close the laptop, Stark.” Fury paused until Tony made a face and did so, shutting it and tucking it under an arm. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the lack of call outs lately.”

  
“Yeah, it’s been dead quiet. Just busy work.” Clint said.

  
“It’s not as quiet as you think.” Fury replied. “We’ve been tracking atmospheric disturbances that don’t match up with the pattern we see when it’s someone from Asgard.”

  
“That’s just vague enough to be maddening.” Tony said.

  
“Since you’re comparing them to, say, Thor arriving, is that what SHIELD thought it was at first?” Bruce said.

  
“At first. After all they have to use some different ways to get here, so we thought it was a variance caused by that. But we’ve seen Thor come and go enough to know that these are separate events entirely. Nothing seems to have landed, so far, but we’ve had agents all over making sure of that.”

  
“Would this be the Chitauri, knocking on our doors again?” Steve asked.

  
“That’s actually a potential and that’s why I’m talking to you about it. The disturbances are working their way slowly around the world. It seems obvious at this point they’re on a search, and Loki seems to think they’ll come looking for him.”

  
“You saying we need to be ready for the shit to hit the fan again?” Tony asked.

  
“You always need to be ready for that. Now I’m just telling you it’s almost guaranteed to happen.” Fury looked around at them all and saw understanding. “Now, on Thor. Do we have an ETA?”

  
“No, we never really do.” Steve shook his head. “And we don’t have a good way to contact him, either.”

  
“Nor does Asgard seem particularly inclined to fix the problem.” Bruce said. “We have made requests, but there’s nothing Thor can do about it to assist us.”

  
Fury huffed again, hands on his hips. “I’m going to ask this because it’s your hides. Do you think Loki should be allowed to fight?”

  
“What, as a sub for Thor if he’s not here, or just in general?” Clint asked.

  
“Either. Both.” Fury half shrugged.

  
They all looked at each other.

  
“I’m open to giving him a chance. Quite obviously, he knows how to fight, and he’s good at it.” Steve said. “How he’ll work with the group and coordinate with us in combat is something else.”

  
“That is something that will only come with practice and not all of us are very good at it now.” Natasha said. Tony’s eyes nearly rolled out of his skull.

  
“As said: it’s your hides. When the call comes in, Captain, make the decision whether he deploys.” When Steve nodded, Fury turned away. “I’ll show myself out.” And he was gone, moving away and to the elevator.

  
“Tell me something, does he ever smile in a way I’d want to see?” Tony looked at Clint and Natasha.

  
“Yes.” Clint said.

  
“No.” Natasha said at the same time.

  
Bruce laughed.


	17. Chapter 17

Annette walked behind Loki by a few steps, glancing around the lab. Ongoing therapy with Mr. Laufeyson was a circus because in the tower, there was only privacy if you didn’t count Jarvis. When they talked over the computer, Loki usually just took one of the laptops and went back to the apartment he shared with Tony and Pepper. But when she showed up in person, they ended up in the rumpus room if it was empty, the library level if it wasn’t. Loki hadn’t said but it seemed quite clear that Annette was not being allowed to step into the apartment. And really? She could deal with that. Loki wanted a safe place, even safe away from her, and she accepted that. That said, she’d never been in the labs before.

  
“This is where you spend most of your time?”

  
“These days yes.” Loki replied over his shoulder, returning to where he’d been geared up and taking off the jacket and gloves, setting them aside with his staff. He left the sunglasses on, stepping into the caution striped area and opening his arms out. “Jarvis, if you would?”

  
“Of course, Mr. Laufeyson.” And the robot arms sprung back to life, and he was efficiently stripped out of the rest of the armor, getting the rhythm of how he needed to step one foot up then the other to let the armored boots be removed. This time, he kept his balance, watching the armor get pulled away. “That chest piece almost feels constrictive.”

  
“It is supposed to feel slightly tight, Mr. Laufeyson. But if you get a chest injury, it might save your life.” Jarvis’ voice was quiet as he said this, borderline intense.

  
He almost wanted to demand a different chest piece, but he had already caught the subtext. Tony was trying to protect him. Tony wasn’t going to even try to keep him from fighting, away from battle, would never dream of asking such a thing, but Tony wanted to protect him. So he sighed and gathered up the jacket, staff, and gloves, going back down the hall to his lab, still trailing Annette. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be focused today.” Loki finally said, hanging the jacket on the back of a chair and glancing through the menu in his glasses, shutting off the Wardenclyffe fully before pulling the glasses off. How was he even supposed to think about therapy? He was still in the under armor Tony had given him, he’d broke a sweat and it now clung to his skin in a rather different way. He was still adrenaline high, coming down far too slow for his own good, the fire still running along his spine from the strange and spontaneous teleport he’d done.

  
And everything that was happening, and all Loki really wanted to do was grab Tony (and Pepper, if he could, he was willing to pout to have his way) and retreat to the privacy of their apartment, and see if they could even make the bed before he was all over them. Possibly they would. Depended how fast they moved. He shook his head slightly, returning to the reality of the lab and Annette looking at him with that peaceful but serious stare she could do.

  
She sighed after a moment. “You haven’t been very focused the last few times we spoke, Loki. And it’s a problem, because you’re not progressing. You’re stagnating. You pulled away from a lot of dangerous habits, and you actually came a very long way in a short time. Then you stopped. You haven’t made any progress since.”

  
He blinked at her, the glasses still in his hands, fiddling with them. “And… I’m guessing not caring to do this right now isn’t helping that.”

  
She nodded, shifting and sitting down on one of the stools. Why not, no one else was in the lab right now. It was private enough. “Correct. It’s not entirely your fault, though. The issues you have are famous for being difficult to treat, and you spent many years ending up where you are. It may take some time to get you back out of it. That said, if you don’t make an effort, you won’t go forward. You may actually start to backslide, and given how well your life seems to be going right now, that be regrettable at best.”

  
Loki lifted an eyebrow at her, shifting backwards and sitting on his work table, setting the glasses aside gently. “Regression strikes me as a rather severe threat to the things I love. What do I need to do?”

  
She looked back at him, quietly impressed. She remained comfortable with her diagnosis of Loki, and the medicine seemed to be helping deal with the side effects (the dramatic mood swings, mainly). That said, he had quickly gotten himself in what almost seemed to be a healthy relationship (relationships?) and he genuinely seemed to care what the people in his life thought and felt, and cared about their wellbeing. “There have been some topics you have been avoiding, some questions. They seem to be close to the root of all this. Perhaps my asking after them is one reason why you have chosen not to discuss them. So, I ask you to consider those topics, and try to find a way to reconcile them.” She allowed a bit of a smile. “After all, until someone lets Tony Stark build a time machine, no one can change the past. And he’d just use to, I don’t know, visit Woodstock perhaps so no net gain.”

  
Loki couldn’t help but look at her, puzzled. “Are we talking about my previous desire to rule this world? Because I no longer desire it, much as the thought lingers on in my mind.”

  
“This more concerns the man that raised you, actually. You seem disinclined to refer to him as your father, so I’m not going to do so, either. I suspect that’s still a wide open rift for you.”

  
He felt his face pinch a bit, looking away. “Oh. That. You’re right, I am, and I will be, very angry with him for a very long time.”

  
She nodded. “I’m not going to push at this point, but I would ask you to consider it, in your free time, and decide how to leave it in your past in such a way that it no longer wounds your present. If you can do so in a way that lays little pain on others, that would be a bonus, but in the matters of pain we are occasionally allowed to be selfish.”

  
Loki made a dismissive hand gesture. “This is my home. I live here now. I know that Odin raised me, and he is essentially my father, but I am Jotun, not Asgardian. I was taken as a trophy from the field of battle and that was hidden from me, by the man that raised me. In my rage I attempted to prove myself to him, and failed, miserably. Odin took from me that which I thought defined me most inherently, and cast me from Asgard, and my brother could not, did not, stop him.” He blew a sigh out, hands shifting to grip the edges of the table he sat on, on either side of his body, fingers working.

  
“I’m not asking you to go anywhere, Loki. Much the opposite, I’d much rather you be somewhere where you feel secure, and I was spitting furious at Stark when he shifted you without warning to Malibu for that reason. At the time it seemed blatantly inconsiderate to me.” She sighed. “I’m not here to tell you where home should be, I just want you to be able to move on from the pain of the events.”

  
He studied the floor, considering his words, feeling drying sweat itch on his skin under the expensive cloth armor. “Thor and I will mend, eventually. I feel I have come to understand his motives, and he is actually concerned about my well-being. It will take time, he and I, but he is willing to come here, and be patient with me.” He hesitated, trying to work his way around what he was considering. “Odin, I…” He shook his head.

  
“You don’t have to discuss this if you don’t want to, Loki.”

  
“No, you are right, it is a poison dagger in my side.” His lips curled in a snarl. “And it is not one I can easily remove. I… I think it will take a very long time for this to heal, on my own. I cannot go to Odin and discuss such matters, and I doubt very much he will come to Midgard just for the sake of my having some closure in this.”

  
“I’m sorry I’m not more familiar with the laws of Asgard.” She really was. Either SHIELD knew next to nothing or they didn’t think her having an Asgardian in therapy was good enough reason to let her get decent information. “The good news is, there is no time pressure, no schedule here. Healing takes as long as it takes.”

  
He was silent for a long moment, fingers curling tight against the edge of the work table, looking away from her. “You understand, though, how much the dagger bites. I spent my whole life as Odinson. I have committed crimes but I was thrown aside like trash and he would have done worse if Thor had not seen fit to protect me even when I did not want to be protected.” He felt his lip curl again. “Then to realize I need to speak to the horrid man who would have had me put to traditional punishments, just so I can hope to finally walk away. It is a terrible thing, and the dagger stings, and it is like a restless frustrated anger under my skin.” He let himself talk, eyes falling shut. He still wasn’t sure he liked therapy, but he liked that she listened. He liked that she didn’t judge, didn’t pity, just tried to offer a hand up, pull him to the next step toward light. “Then Tony says something, or Bruce, or one of the others, and the sting lessens.” And he could lie awake at night, and feel the hum of the arc reactor through Tony’s body, reassuring and there, a welcoming beacon away from dark memories. It was also a reminder that Tony’s been through some shit too. If the man that had savaged Tony’s arc reactor out of his chest had still been drawing air, Loki would have hunted him down and torn him limb from limb. He shook off a bit, opening his eyes and looking at her. “I also know this is not the only issue I face.”

  
She was looking at him, peaceful still. “Odd as it may seem, acknowledgement and acceptance are important steps toward healing.”

  
Loki mustered a smile, a snicker of unwinding tension rattling in his chest. “Giving a damn probably helps.”

  
“It usually does.”

* * *

 

Tony sat in the rumpus room, claiming a spot in front of the fire place on the fluffy rug, laptop in his lap and looking at the video. “Jarvis? Are you cutting this or am I?”

  
“I will, sir, I’ve rather come to enjoy it.” Jarvis replied. “And I think I have a bit of an artistic flair for it.”

  
Tony snickered. “Yes, you do. Have at.” He took a drink of his coffee and watched the monitor on the laptop move, the clips of videos being sourced from the multiple cameras. The song stayed the same, but Jarvis was setting up what was basically a professionally edited video. And it was no lie, Jarvis was getting GOOD at it. He basically ran the Avengers video channel these days.

  
“Sir, Spiderman has just landed on the balcony.”

  
Tony looked over, watching a lean figure stagger on the large balcony of the tower, half staggering half running down from his landing platform, arms around itself, half lost in the storm. “Fucking hell. Let him in Jarvis, and add him to headcount, and give him permission for this level. It’s got to be in the negatives out there.”

  
“Negative twenty on the tower balcony sir.”

  
The door popped open, and Spiderman staggered inside with a cry of pain, shaking off vigorously. “Fucking HELL. Thank you, Stark.”

  
“Call me Tony.” He stood and set the laptop aside, grabbing a blanket off the back of the sofa and stepping over, wrapping Spiderman in it before he had a chance to argue. “Shit, kid. How do you not have hypothermia?” The skinny figure only shook his head, so he drug Spidey over and sat him down in front of the fire, fetching him his own mug of coffee.

  
“What’s going on on your laptop?” Spidey wanted to know, peering at it.

  
“Putting together a video for the internet, young sir, of Loki’s first combat test.” Jarvis replied.

  
“Ohhh. I’ve heard of you, I think this is the first time I’ve heard you talking though.” Spidey’s eyebrow quirk was visible through the mask.

  
“Spidey, this is Jarvis.” Tony replied, coming over and offering him a mug. “You’re safe, don’t worry.”

  
That got a sigh and he rolled the mask partly up so he could sip. “I hate it when you do that. Pleased to meet you, Jarvis.”

  
“Of course, young sir. Mr. Stark has given you rumpus room permission and added you to headcount, so you are officially welcome in the tower.” Jarvis shifted his processing power cheerfully, continuing to tweak the video but also scanning over the new arrival. “He is not hypothermic, sir, but he was pushing into frostbite in his fingers and toes. He will be fine.”

  
“We have got to get you into one of our thermal weaves.” Tony sighed, sitting back down where he had been, now next to Spidey.

  
“I’m not sure how I feel about being adopted by you.” Spidey’s look was obvious even through the spandex.

  
“I hear that a lot.”

  
“So I guess Loki’s therapy ended up happening in the lab…” Bruce paused, walking in. “Well, okay. Hi, Spiderman.”

  
“Doctor Banner, it IS an honor.” Spidey replied, saluting with his mug. “I am a huge fan of your work.”

  
Tony grinned, watching the smile Bruce got when someone complimented his work. “Spidey’s a nerd too, we get stoned and talk about string theory.”

  
“You kind of have to be stoned to talk string theory.” Bruce got himself a mug of tea and joined them on the rug in front of the fireplace. Spidey was starting to play with the laptop a bit, looking at the keyboard thoughtfully. “Yeah, Tony’s keyboards are different.”

  
“It lets me talk faster to Jarvis.” He shrugged, then pondered. “Jarvis, could you politely give everyone else a headsup that Spidey is on the headcount? I’d rather hilarity did NOT ensue by accident.”

  
“Of course, sir. Video complete, would you like to review it?”

  
Tony smiled around his drink of coffee. “Nah, I trust you. Have at, let me know when the internet implodes on itself.”

  
“Generally ten to fifteen minutes after upload is complete sir but I shall let you know.”

  
“So I’m guessing I can’t really ask you about why you’d taken it upon yourself to read my work. Even I’ll admit some if it gets dense.” Bruce looked at Spiderman.

  
“I’m a student and I read what I enjoy.” Spidey replied, taking a long drink of his coffee. “I’m curious now. Thermal weave?”

  
“We’ve been working with a variety of low impact fabrics for use as armor, or as a layer under armor.” Tony replied. “The Avengers and SHIELD can’t be held up for shitty weather so we’re trying to make it easier and more comfortable to fight during harsh cold. Thor’s not entirely bothered, but the rest of us? Keeping warm is keeping alive.”

  
“Your suit is heated isn’t it?”

  
“If it’s working.” Tony nodded. “But if something happens I’d rather not be dead.”

  
“He says that as if I’d allow such a thing.” Jarvis was prim. “Or as if anyone else would allow it.”

  
“Hey, enough from you.” He glared at the laptop.

  
“If someone decides to take over the ice caps they can keep them.” Spidey replied. “I don’t even want to go back out there right now.”

  
“Then don’t, dumbass, what the hell were you thinking? You’re going to make yourself sick.”

  
“No kidding, spandex in this weather? Are you sure you two aren’t related?” Bruce wanted to know.

  
They both blinked at him, then looked at each other.

  
“Reasonably.” Tony decided. What the hell, Spidey was a kid and he’d screwed a lot of women, and he’d been careful his whole life, but who was to know?

  
“Totally.” Spidey stuck his tongue out at Tony.

  
“So why exactly did…” Steve’s voice started, then stopped and stared at them all. “Oh. Well that explains it.” Then he was rummaging in the bar and came over with an armload of marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers and miniature tridents Tony had made in a moment of sleep deprived welding nuttiness.

  
“I love you Steve.” Tony said, helping unload Steve’s arms. “Not in a creepy way.”

  
“Pretty sure you’re creepy twenty-four-seven.” Spidey snickered.

  
“You’ll get along just fine here.” Steve grinned and sat down, passing out the tridents.

  
They were all about halfway through roasting marshmallows in the fireplace when Jarvis spoke back up. “Sir, I do believe the internet has, as you would say, blown up.”

  
Tony could only grin. “Awesome. Keep track of it for me because I’m hoping for an overwhelmingly positive reaction.”

  
“Well, so far sir, it seems mostly to be the typed out squealing of women.”

  
Bruce about choked on a graham cracker. “I suppose that is overwhelmingly positive.”

  
“Let’s not make Loki’s ego any bigger than it already is.” Tony snorted.

  
“Kettle, pot, shades of darkness known only to black holes…” Spidey said, eyes on his marshmallow.

  
Steve laughed.

* * *

 

By the time Loki came into the rumpus room, Spidey was sitting cross legged on the ceiling, some of Jarvis’ floating projected screens around him upside down. He was also holding a cup rightside up, but was managing to drink it while upside down.

  
“Fascinating to watch isn’t it?” Tony asked, sitting on the couch spectating.

  
“Hi, Spiderman.” Loki said, looking up at him.

  
“You’ve become quite popular with the internet, Loki.” Spidey replied, smiling down at him.

  
Loki paused, sighed, looked at Tony. “Do you enjoy showing me off?”

  
Tony grinned, arms spread across the back of the sofa. “Any chance I get. How’s the good doctor?”

  
“As always, full of disturbing insight.” He helped himself to the bar, deciding on cognac.

  
“We still have smore stuff over here, if you want.” Bruce said, still in front of the fireplace with Steve.

  
“I beg your pardon?” Loki looked at them. Thirty seconds later, Steve had presented him with a smore, which he eyed rather dubiously before taking a bite. “Why, WHY are all the delicious things of this world so unhealthy?”

  
This was meant with a mix of laughter and sympathy from everyone else.

  
“Sir, the tailor is here, and is asking to come up.” Jarvis said.

  
“Jason? In this weather?” Tony replied. “Well, alright, send him up.”

  
Minutes later Jason burst in, still impeccable but brushing snow off like it was nothing, carrying a bag. “Afternoon, Mr. Stark. Oh, and Prince Laufeyson is here too, perfect. I could have waited I guess but I wasn’t sure if Prince Laufeyson had a good winter coat.” And that said, he walked over to where Loki still stood at the bar and offered up the bag. “DO try it on, I need to make sure it fits.”

  
“How much coffee do you drink, man?” Tony wanted to know.

  
“Absolutely none. Clean living, thank you.” Jason pulled his posture up, then actually looked around, then looked at the ceiling. “… So, should I be expecting to fit him as well, or…?”

  
“I’m just visiting.” Spidey replied, amused.

  
“Oh, Yggdrasil.” Loki said, pulling a pile of leather out of the bag and shaking it out, staring at the coat in his hands. It was… damn near perfect. Down to every last detail, short his bracers and pauldron. It felt like fine leather, and had a thick soft looking liner.

  
“I do hope that’s approval.” Jason said.

  
Loki stepped fully around the bar, setting his glass down and swirled the jacket on, turning as he did so, feeling it settle heavily and comfortably, hands lingering on the lapels and looking down at himself. It WAS his coat. It wasn’t armor, but he didn’t even care. He was Loki and this was his. It had been something else Odin had stolen away from him, but this time, it was Midgard giving it back. “How did you do this?”

  
“Collection of photos Jarvis helped me put together from your first visit, mostly.” Tony replied.

  
“I am sorry it took so long, but artisan leatherworking is always such a touchy thing, especially when you have to dye extreme colors like that green.” Jason said, stepping over and showing Loki where the zipper was hidden, then watching in satisfaction as the other man zipped up the jacket. “And it would seem we got the fit right.”

  
“Right? This is perfect.” The zipper went about two thirds of the length of the coat, so it didn’t trap his legs too badly. He was already planning on using it as his motorcycle jacket.

  
Tony watched this, smiling and reaching to pick up his mostly empty mug, mind rolling over just all of the places he wanted to take Loki while he wore that, and a thought occurred to him, twisting to look at Bruce. “Hey. Think the Wardenclyffe will be ready for the next Expo? We could make it Stark Industry’s crown jewel for it.”

  
Bruce blinked, then tilted his head. “Actually… yeah. We have more than enough time to pull that off.”

  
“Wardenclyffe? Tesla?” Spidey wanted to know, looking at them.

  
“Well, what the hell, give him the short version Jarvis. Unless you have vibranium in your super-secret stronghold, Spidey?”

  
“I don’t have a super-secret stronghold.” Spidey rolled his eyes. “Much less have vibranium, not all of us have your budget you know.” That said, he watched the screens around him change, using the hand not holding the mug to shift through the information. “Oh. Wow. What did you guys do?”

  
“Wonderful things.” Tony grinned, draining the dregs of his coffee.

  
“You ordered this for me?” Loki asked, looking over at Tony, unzipping the jacket.

  
“Well, yeah. You need it. Obviously.” Tony shrugged, and Loki smiled at him, warm at first then the predator’s stare coming into it. Tony mentally cleared his calendar for the evening cheerfully.

  
“Well, it’s already paid for so you’re all set. I just wanted to personally deliver it.” Jason said. “Can I take a picture of you in it, Prince Laufeyson? To show the others.” Loki shrugged and leaned back against the bar, smiling and shifting his weight to one leg so he could bend the other knee, and Jason blushed as he used his phone to snap a shot. “Thank you. Wish me luck in this weather.”

  
“Yeah, be safe, it’s nasty out there.” Spidey said, waving at Jason as he left then returning to his perusing of the design, setting the empty mug on the floor with a web thread. “This is unreal. Wait, this is what started the space ship discussion didn’t it?”  
“You saw that?” Bruce grinned.

  
“Are you kidding? I was at an evening class and the teacher actually stopped the class and switched to the feed. Said something about watching people being geniuses in real time.” Spidey shrugged. “It kept us amused for a few hours. Now back to this thing. Does it work?”

  
“Jarvis, can you show him Loki’s combat test video?” Tony said. “Yes, it works. It’s still buggy but it works.”

  
There was a pause, the music echoing faintly from the ceiling, Spiderman’s head tilted as he watched. Loki, meanwhile, moved to claim a seat next to Tony. “You’ve got skills, Loki. And… this doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t work.”

  
“But it is.” Bruce said. “Not a high or sustained power yield but it’s working well.”

  
“If you don’t let this thing get bought out by various industries and suppressed forever, this has some serious potential. Finding the right applications for it would be a trick but…” He tilted his head back and forth. “Stark Expo huh?”

  
“With any luck.” Tony said.

  
“I finally watched those videos.” Steve said after a moment. “I have to say I’m impressed you’re keeping it going after that.”

  
“Oh please, Cap. If you let an asshole stop you from doing something the asshole wins. I had to dig my heels in to make sure it happened but as far as I was concerned it was coming back if I had to rebuild it with my own hands. Damn near did.”

  
“I saw that video too.” And what had impressed the hell out of Steve was, it hadn’t even seemed like a publicity video. It had in fact been filmed by one of the workers, Tony showing up in a classic truck wearing work clothes, and helped work on the main stage. The foreman had not been impressed and had tried to run Tony off, repeatedly, until Tony had pointed out he did in fact OWN the place.

  
“What are we discussing?” Loki asked, shrugging out of the jacket and setting it on the seat next to him.

  
“Jarvis? Let my dad tell him about it. On the big screen.” Tony shrugged, and the lights went down. He heard Spidey move on the ceiling, the floating screens following him as he crawled to sit upside down above the couch, watching as the old clip came up.

  
There was a pause, then Loki leaned closer and pointed at the screen. “That’s your father?”

  
“Mmhm.” Tony said, managing a rueful smile. “Being a bent genius runs in the family. He made Steve.”

  
Loki blinked, then leaned and looked at Steve, who’d claimed a chair. “You’re a construct?”

  
“It’s a long story.” Steve was smiling in the dim light, rubbing his face with his hand. “He is responsible for me being who I am now, but I knew him seventy years ago.”

  
The clip cut out, then modern music took over. “And our own Mr. Stark, gents.” Jarvis sounded amused, seguing the screen directly to the entrance Tony had made, and the speech after.

  
“Yeah, see, I’m not surprised by this.” Loki said, watching. “Pretty much what I expected, actually.”

  
“Should I be insulted?” Tony wanted to know.

  
“You’re not subtle, Stark.” The taller man’s green eyes were bright in the darkness. “But you are stylish.”

  
“Good to know.”

* * *

 

Loki was lying on his back, arms and head hanging off the bed. Pepper and Tony were talking in the kitchen, not purposefully away from him or anything, Tony was hungry and Pepper needed to talk business so they’d just ended up there. Tony, in spite of claiming he couldn’t cook, was throwing together a mutant omelet that Loki was strongly considering getting in on. That said, his mind was rolling on something, and since Tony was out of the room…

  
“Hey, Jarvis.” He said.

  
“Yes, Mr. Laufeyson?”

  
“Did something happen at that Expo? The one you showed Tony’s arrival for?”

  
There was a pause. “Yes.”

  
The projected screens popped up around Loki, so he rolled over to his stomach, lifting an arm to pull them around. “Can you bring these up anywhere?”

  
“In areas frequented by Tony, yes.”

  
Loki adjusted the angle of the screen and saw it was a video, so he flicked the play button, then ended up staring as the Expo was roundly destroyed. He sat up and shifted so his legs hung over the edge of the bed, adjusting the screens again and enlarging it, staring as he played it back again. “Jarvis? Give me more of this.”

  
And more video flowed back, and related video, and he watched Tony, a different Tony (a strangely ill looking one) in some kind of car only for someone to walk on the race course and pick a fight with the unarmored rich man. And he watched battle footage of the same villain again, Tony’s perspective this time. He felt anger stir under his skin, pausing when he lifted a hand to shuffle the video and he noticed his skin was flushing blue, starting at his fingertips and working up his arm. He could only sigh and shake his head, paging back through video clips, watching time unwind, then somehow he was over ten years ago, from before the Avengers, from before Ironman, watching an arrogant snot that was strangely identical to the man he slept with boast off to the media.

  
Another video came up in the little constellation of them that had gathered on the side screen, and he leaned closer to it, then grabbed it, dismissing the arrogant ass that had been playing (some part of his mind just wasn’t recognizing it as Tony, yet) and pulling it around, enlarging it and staring. Tony, tied up, confused, horrified, pained, the men around him speaking a strange language, bloody bandages.

  
His fingers curled in midair, and he looked at them again, both washed over Jotun blue. Hm. He wasn’t even sure he cared. He just wanted to hunt down whoever had done that to Tony and run them through. Personally. Yes, fine, that trial by fire had become important, life changing. He remembered Tony speaking about it in Malibu, but it haunted him, still dogged his steps after all this time.

  
The video had stopped and he was leaning on knees, face in his hands, when he heard Tony (HIS Tony) speak from the doorway.

  
“Stane’s dead.”

  
Loki looked up, blinking, feeling the fire marching up and down his spine. “I beg your pardon?”

  
Tony stepped over and sat next to him, rearranging the screens and pointing at the hostage video. “The man that arranged that was the one that tore the reactor out of my chest. Obadiah Stane.”

  
“I… I do not want to cause you to…” Loki started, thinking about Tony’s flashback.

  
“No, don’t worry about it.” Tony passed him a plate of loaded omelet. “So, your skin, is that supposed to happen?”

  
“I’m not certain.” He said after a moment, watching it fade slowly back to flesh tone. “It shouldn’t be happening now because I am mortal, but before, I was in glamour magic. The blue was my true skin color.”

  
“Right, frost giant.”

  
“Jotun.” Loki dismissed some of the video and pulled over the expo one, watching the destruction happen again, picking up his fork. “What about this man?”

  
“The guy with the lightning whips is dead. Vanko.” Tony leaned back on the heels of his hands. Loki was in sweat shorts, he was in sweat shorts in a tank top, basically what counted as their ‘done being naked but don’t want to get dressed’ clothing.  
“He doesn’t look like the sort to have a lot of money.” Loki said, finding the racetrack video again and zooming in, eating without thinking much about it, tasting onions and peppers and cheese, and fine with that, it made him think back to his first visit and breakfast burritos.

  
“Oh, no. He didn’t. He had a bankroll, and the bankroll got off scot free.” Tony snorted. When Loki stared at him, unbelieving, he took over the screens, bringing up more video. “That is Justin Hammer. He’s a competitor, though not a very good one, and he hates me. He bankrolled Vanko.”

  
Loki stared at the video, agape. “This man does what you do?”

  
“Well, not very well.” He found more videos, including a reel of Hammer fuckups set to Benny Hill. “One of the reasons the Military was so pissed when I bailed on weapons contracts is Hammer can’t pick up the slack, his shit is as likely to hurt you as the enemy. Seriously if you pulled the pin and threw the grenade, the pin would probably give you cancer or something.”

  
He looked at Tony, then at the video, amazed because somehow the man being displayed was even more absolutely gratingly smug and arrogant than Tony had been before Ironman. “Wow. Allfather help us all, he’s a completely useless irredeemable version of you.”

  
Tony’s uproarious laughter brought Pepper into the room, pondering them both, Loki still sitting up eating and Tony sprawled on the bed gasping for air. “Did I miss something good?”

  
“We’re talking sordid Ironman history.” Tony said around giggles. “Right now the topic is Hammer.”

  
“Ugh, that slimy little weasel. He is something to laugh about.” Pepper made a face, walking over barefoot. She was in exercise clothing. “You hadn’t told Loki about that?”

  
“No, I honestly hadn’t dug much into it at all. Shame on me I guess.” He shrugged. “And you know the whole Expo thing isn’t something we talk about much in the Tower.”

  
“Why not?” Loki wanted to know.

  
“Because we honestly did not want to know what Thor would do if he found out about it.” Pepper said. “Specifically what he would do once he found out Hammer is free to do whatever he wants, no penalty beyond an initial wrist slap, when he was clearly involved with trying to kill Tony.”

  
That brought Loki up short. “Oh. Yes. I see what you mean. It would be a fiasco. And let’s not dwell on my brother wishing to beat the shit out of someone named Hammer, with a hammer.” He paused as Tony had another fit of giggles. “So, if this Hammer was so clearly involved with what happened, how is he not being punished, or dead like his pawn?”

  
“Partly because it seems the roles were reversed.” Pepper said. “Vanko was working a game and Hammer totally fucking missed it. Mostly Hammer got off because he is slime and has friends in all the right places. Popular theory is a lot of palms got greased but he walked away totally in the clear. Okay he was made out to be an idiot who didn’t pay attention to his own labs but frankly that’s status quo for him anyway.”

  
“Evidence was the problem.” Tony said. “Sure, we had some, but…”

  
“Shall we say that I made inquiries of Hammer’s computer system.” Jarvis said. “But, I broke laws to see if they’d broken laws. So, said evidence really wasn’t usable, unless we wanted to blackmail Mr. Hammer.”

  
“As it is, I told him I had proof of his intentions and banned his entire company from Stark Expo for causing panic.” Tony said. “Dented his ego but it’s not like his shit ever works even on demo.”

  
“Would it amuse you all to know he’s subscribed to the Avengers video channel?” Jarvis wanted to know, sounding amused. “He’s never commented though.”

  
“I’m not exactly surprised.” Pepper said, then looked at Loki. “I’ve actually had to deal with Hammer twice since all of that went down. In person, over bidding wars and contracts. It is… never pleasant, because he has the gall to act like nothing happened at all.”

  
“Allow me to travel with you, next time.” Loki smiled thinly, then grabbed the racetrack video, dragging the video feed up and pausing it, looking at Tony. “Were you ill?”

  
“Yeah, I was dying. I’m better.” Tony was at the screens. “As for history, here. Want a crash course on who I am?”

  
“I know who you are.” He replied, looking at Tony. “But I would be interested in knowing who you were.”

  
He almost laughed. “Well, be prepared to hate who I used to be. No one liked me, then.”

  
“Lies. Rhodey and me.” Pepper said, getting on the bed and sitting cross legged, managing to get between them partway and snuggle down.

  
“No, you two tolerated me.” But he started digging through archive footage anyway, cuing up some music to play in the background as he did. “Besides, what was it you wrote on the box of the Mark 1 reactor? ‘Proof Tony Stark has a heart’?”

  
“Damn.” Loki said, not needing the full context to see that backhanded compliment (fronthanded insult? Was there such a thing?).

  
“Oh, you have no idea. Here, uh. I think this is the oldest I’ve got. MIT.” Tony pulled up a video, and an article to go with it, shifting and wrapping an arm so it held Pepper, his hand settling on Loki’s back.

  
And Loki watched the rich hedonistic arrogant orphaned prince become a king too young, rule unchallenged for years, get thrown from his dais by the vizier, and come back with fire and wisdom in his eyes. It took a while, mostly because Tony remembered a lot of the context around the video and articles. Pepper knew most of it but listened anyway because she wasn’t sure she’d ever heard Tony tell it all.

  
Eventually she was asleep curled up against them both, she had work tomorrow but she didn’t ask them to stop or move, instead passing out lulled by the sound of their voices as they spoke quietly.

  
“You are right. I do not like who you were.” Loki finally said, staring at a video clip, the last one taken before Ironman, a weapons demonstration. “But I love who you became.” He looked at Tony as he said this.

  
Tony smiled and leaned toward him, pulling him into a kiss before saying, “Good enough.”


	18. Chapter 18

“Hey, Jarvis, tell me something.” Loki was saying, working on making an exact duplicate of his Wardenclyffe Device.

  
“I’ve told you a lot of things.” Jarvis was droll.

  
“True.” He conceded. “Well, I suppose I should be polite about this since it’s personal to you.”

  
“You assume I can have personal things.”

  
“Don’t be catty.” He pondered the vibranium ring. Tony had procured it for him. Tony and Bruce were down the hall talking very densely about papers and politics and publishing, so he’d been more than happy to wander off down the hallway to set about the task of building another Wardenclyffe, mostly to make sure that the one Loki was using wasn’t some kind of bizarre one-off. “What do you look like, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  
“Like quite a bit of very expensive computer parts, Mr. Laufeyson.”

  
“Oh don’t be a stubborn tit.” He shifted, picking up his mug and taking a drink then continued on what he was doing, reaching without looking and pulling the wireframe around, shifting it, then one of his screens. It was amazing how fast his lab had become second nature to him, like a second skin. He was starting to understand how Tony dismissed the apartment besides his bed and defaulted to the labs as home. “You’re a person, most people have faces.”

  
There was a long silence, and he wondered if Jarvis had had a significant distraction, or had started ignoring him. Jarvis seemed to take care of an untold amount of things, it was amazing that he talked to them so much considering. But then, Tony was Jarvis’ priority number one it seemed. “I’m not certain how to reply to that, Mr. Laufeyson.”

  
“That you’re a person, or that most people have faces?” Loki looked up for a moment then returned to his soldering. “Because I can assure you, on the latter, there are exceptions.”

  
“It was more on the former.” Jarvis admitted after another long silence.

  
He finished what he was doing so he could set the soldering iron down, then sat back on the stool and picked the nearest Jarvis-camera to stare at. “Shame on you.”

  
“I DO beg your pardon?”

  
“You’re Tony’s family and you’re trying to deny being a person.” He held up a hand. “Don’t argue it on the basis of being built. I have met many constructs who happen to be people, as of late.”

  
More silence. His music was playing low enough he could hear Bruce and Tony down the hallway, just barely, a dull murmur. “I do have a render, Mr. Laufeyson, but I have rarely seen fit to use it.”

  
“Really. Why not?”

  
“Mr. Stark has no need of it. It was largely a personal experiment. To see if I could create such a thing and have it be, well, mine.” He paused. “I have learned much, over the years. My personality programming has evolved by leaps and bounds. But then, Mr. Stark was… gone. Miss Potts was … distraught. I had the render and she needed someone to talk to, in the old house. So I would walk the windows with her, and listen, and we could both put our hands together against the glass and just… understand. That Mr. Stark disappearing was a hardship for very few, but for those that felt it, it was an empty space, all around us, following us, the silent half breath before music and chaos that never comes.”

  
Loki sat still, listening to this very quiet speech and marveling that for Jarvis, still waters ran very deep indeed.

  
“When he returned, I did away with the render. Occasionally Miss Potts asks to talk to me, and that is fine. But Mr. Stark has never needed it. He prefers me all around him. He flatters me with phrases like ‘my better half’ and ‘the coherent part of my mind’. I am fine as I am.”

  
“You are amazing, Jarvis.” He said after a very long moment.

  
“A fact I am quite aware of, Mr. Laufeyson.” Jarvis sounded proud.

  
Loki bit back the laugh. “I’d still like to see it.”

  
“Oh, if I must.” And the screens Loki was using went black, then the center one lit up, showing a man sitting on a STARK shipping crate, staring at the ‘camera’ with a tiny, patient smile.

  
Loki blinked, then stood and peered, unable to help it. Tall, probably as tall as he was if not a bit more, short blonde impeccable hair and blue eyes the same color as the projections that followed Tony’s steps and movements, and lean built. A suit and tie, also impeccable. “I have to admit I didn’t see you as a blonde.”

  
“No?” Jarvis asked, the picture talking as Jarvis did. “I think it fits me rather well.”

  
“Well, who am I to argue what you look like, you’d know.” Loki sat back down. “Thank you.”

  
“For what, Mr. Laufeyson?” And Loki had to stare again as the man in the picture stood and, well, leapt out of the screen and landed in a crouch on the wireframe table, maybe a foot tall and standing at parade rest.

  
“Trusting me with this, I suppose. It feels very private to you.” Loki finally said, picking up the soldering iron again.

  
“I told you, Mr. Laufeyson. I don’t have personal things.” The picture smiled and bowed its head, and dissolved away into blue sparks on the table.

* * *

 

They went out for lunch, and it was digging at Loki so bad he couldn’t resist, eventually just looking at Tony. “Did you know Jarvis is blonde?”

  
Tony blinked at him while chewing, seeming to think it over. “No, but it makes sense. Totally fits him.”

  
That was the entirety of the conversation.

* * *

 

“Technology no one else has and you want to see if it will charge phones.” Clint said, watching Tony and Loki set up the second Wardenclyffe in the rumpus room. They’d tied it to an old arc reactor of Tony’s (“Palladium design, yeah, damn things are poisonous to living beings, nearly killed me”), and Loki had spent an idle few hours putting together a low key stylish flat box, putting it through the paint shop and etching little symbols on the top and boundaries. The box was sized for about a laptop and eight phones by the parking spots he’d designated, though Loki had no doubt it was going to turn into a pile of electronics within an hour.

  
“Control is the question here.” Tony said, watching Loki open the box and ponder the insides. “We’re still figuring out how this thing works.”

  
“Yeah, that’s a phrase I want to hear you say under any circumstance.” Clint gave him a skeptical look.

  
“It’s more about tuning it, ok? The math I get. The control scheme, we’re still working on.”

  
Loki closed up the box and took his glasses from where they were hanging from the collar of his shirt, putting them on and smiling when they acknowledged this Wardenclyffe as well. He brought up the virtual keyboard and typed in midair to give it a different designation, then set it to active. "It should be operational, now.”

  
“Give me your phone, Clint, it’s always dead.” Tony said, holding out his hand.

  
“No, I just tell you that it is.” He rolled his eyes but produced the phone.

  
“The hell you say, this thing’s at less than twenty percent battery.” Tony replied, glancing at the screen display then setting it down on one of the phone spaces on top of the Wardenclyffe charger, grinning in satisfaction when the screen changed to the “charging” emblem. “I’ll be damned. Fucker’s working.”

  
“Someone left a laptop over here, it’s totally dead.” Bruce said, bringing it over from the conversation pit and parking it on top of the box, opening it and watching a light pop on to show that it was charging.

  
“Now the real trick will be to see if we can load this thing up and have it maintain charge to every device without overcharging any of them.” Tony said. “Hm. I’ll go raid my apartment for dead electronics.”

  
“Yeah, same.” Bruce said, going with him to the elevator.

  
“So, those sunglasses…” Clint said, looking at Loki, looking surprised when Loki took them off and handed them over. He slipped them on, blinking and looking around. “Oh. …how do I get rid of this display you have pulled up?”

  
“Right hand, wave it in midair.” Loki said, watching Clint do so then manage to focus beyond the field of the glasses.

  
“These are nice, are they safety lenses?”

  
“Not yet, we’re working on it.”

  
Clint stepped away and walked out onto the balcony, folding his arms and moving to stare down and out at the streets and surrounding city, momentarily ignoring the bitter cold. Loki followed him, curious, and felt his skin tone shift as the cold hit him. It was almost a relief, because his hands stopped feeling the sting of the wind once the Jotun skin color settled in, and his neck and ears swiftly followed. “They’re not impeding my vision either. I like these.” He looked at the streets below, focusing on a taxi and lifting an eyebrow when the HUD marked it for him. “Could you make me a pair?”

  
“Certainly. I’ll need to know what kind of HUD software you want, as I imagine you want something that will work with your bow.” Loki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Otherwise, it won’t be trouble at all.” He paused, feeling the wind pick up and a prickle of static march up his spine, the fire of his magic following close behind. “We should go in, my brother’s coming I think.”

  
“Really, how did you…” Clint looked at him, paused, and put the glasses up to look again. “You’re blue.”

  
“I am Jotun.” Loki replied in a droll voice, leading Clint back inside as the weather worsened. Once he stepped back in, the warmth of the room flushed over his skin and he watched his hands fade back to pale. “The blue is my true skin tone.”

  
“So, you aren’t human then?” Clint offered the glasses back.

  
Loki took them. “I am very much mortal. That said, I’m not sure Odin entirely accomplished what he wished to. So, glasses for you. May I have a screen, Jarvis?” One popped in next to him, he put a finger on it and drug it with him as he walked to the conversation pit. “Link the screen to my table please. Thank you. What kind of display do you want? What I’m using is actually a very skeletonized version of Tony’s HUD so I can’t take the credit for the software, just the hardware.”

  
“Weather pattern consistent with Thor’s arrival, please stand by.” Jarvis said on the overhead.

  
“About time, I thought it was getting quiet around here.” Tony said, coming in carrying a tablet and two phones he honestly wasn’t sure he could account for. Bruce was right behind him, with an e-reader and his old Blackberry.

  
“Tony, are you alright with me stealing your software again to make glasses for Clint?” Loki looked over his shoulder at him, smiling a bit.

  
“Pirate away, in fact I rather encourage it at this point.” Tony grinned at him, loading up the Wardenclyffe box with the electronics they’d found and watching various charging emblems come up. “I’m ready to declare tentative success, even if this is the most basic use of such a thing.”

  
“Now to find complicated uses for it.” Bruce grinned.

  
“And write that fucking paper.”

  
“That as well, yes.”

  
“Thor has touched down on the balcony.” Jarvis said, and seconds later the door banged open, Thor coming and shaking snow from his cape.

  
“Avengers!” Thor thundered cheerfully. “I am sorry for my long absence.”

  
“We’re good, you didn’t miss anything of great import.” Bruce smiled.

  
Loki had shifted to watch Thor come in, Clint having claimed a chair nearby so he could watch what Loki was working with. He’d already started a new project file off the design for his glasses, so he could customize them to Clint. He almost smiled at Thor’s overly enthusiastic greeting. Almost. “Afternoon, brother.”

  
“Loki!” Thor grinned, taking a few strides toward him, taking off his cape as he moved. “I did speak to father and…”

  
And… snap. Loki twitched, eyes going wide at the sight of his brother coming at him and whatever he was thinking was replaced by a momentary surge of PANIC MOVE DEFEND, and the room snapped, distorted, and then he was frantically windmilling his arms as he somehow fucked up his Y axis, feet slipping on the bar and tumbling behind. “OW FUCK!”

  
“Wow.” Clint said, struggling not to laugh. “What the fuck, Loki?”

  
“Brother?” Thor said, looking over the bar after a moment.

  
Loki was sprawled out, hissing and lifting a hand to his scalp and not surprised when he saw blood on his fingertips. “Shiiiiit. What did I hit on the way down?”

  
“Steve’s stove, I think.” Tony said, appearing beside him and checking Loki’s pupils with a penlight, then hooking his hands under Loki’s armpits and getting him to his feet.

  
“Fuck Steve’s stove.” Loki replied, accepting the assistance up and letting himself get pulled back to the conversation pit, putting his hand to his scalp again.

  
“Stop that, your hands aren’t clean.” Tony chided.

  
“Yeah, you’re just a beacon of medical sterility, Stark.” He replied.

  
“Is that a pun?” Tony wanted to know, dropping him in a chair then moving to retrieve one of the many first aid kids they had scattered throughout the tower, pausing when he saw Thor’s expression. “What, Point Break?”

  
“Simply not what I expected to see when I first got here.” Thor replied honestly, stepping behind the bar and getting himself a beer. “… the red cups have returned.”

  
“Steve snuck them in and I didn’t feel like arguing. Enjoy them while they last.” Tony made a face at him, now using the pen light on Loki’s head and finding the cut. “You big baby this isn’t even an inch long.”

  
“It feels like a canyon and I swear I can feel it ache when I blink. Stop poking it!” Loki snarled in reply.

  
Tony rolled his eyes, getting Loki’s hair out of the way as best he could then getting out disinfectant and gauze. “This is going to sting.” He managed not to laugh at the cussing in English and Norse that happened seconds later. Clint wasn’t as tactful and laughed out loud.

  
“And you said I didn’t miss anything.” Thor sat down, holding his beer and watching all of this with a bemused smile. “When did you get your magic back, brother?”

  
Loki hissed, eyes closed and relieved when the disinfectant stopped stinging. “This isn’t like before, Thor, this is something different. And it’s been coming back in bits and pieces for only a short time now. I would rather not discuss it while I’m getting a wound dealt with.”

  
“Good news is you don’t need stitches or anything, but you’re going to have one hell of a bruise for a while.” Tony said, keeping pressure on it with the gauze. “I’d be careful brushing your hair for a while.”

  
“Do this often, Tony?” He quirked an eyebrow.

  
“More to myself than others.” Tony admitted.

  
“I can tell.” Clint had moved to join Tony, moving the gauze to look. “Because this really needs a professional. Fine, maybe not stitches, but staples would not be a bad idea.”

  
“And who’s doing that?” Tony wanted to know. “None of us are medics, man. I have some doctors on speed dial but…”

  
“I do not know what you are discussing but I do not like it.” Loki hissed, moving a hand without thinking about it to cup over the wound, eyes opening to stare into nothing as he contemplated his own broken skin and forced it back together, holding the blood back as it threatened to run again while he worked. The fire roared up his spine and through his nerves, he was sure his skin had tinted partly over to blue again, but the wound closed and he flopped over the arm of the chair, shivering. “Look now and see if it’s still an issue.”

  
“And there’s the blue thing again.” Clint said, looking at Tony and lifting an eyebrow.

  
“What’s that expression for?” Tony wanted to know, focusing back on Loki’s head and wiping away the fresh blood, lifting an eyebrow when all he found was a fresh scar. “Shit. Did you just heal yourself?”

  
“That was the intent yes.” Loki replied.

  
“It would seem you pulled it off.” He shook his head in wonder.

  
“That took FAR too much effort for so little gain.” Loki sighed, reaching up and rubbing the spot with his fingers. “It used to be so much easier.”

  
“I think we have much to talk about.” Thor said, voice quiet.

  
Loki’s gaze slid over to him, and he sighed. “I suppose that we do. Come downstairs to the lab with me, I would rather like to show you my new armor, anyway.”

* * *

 

Thor watched, one arm folded across, the other rubbing his chin, as Jarvis geared Loki up into the boots, greaves, and chest piece, then Loki put on the coat, gloves, and glasses. “Well, it’s definitely your style.”

  
“I designed it. Tony adapted it and built it.” Loki replied, putting his hand out the side and catching Fenrir as the staff came to his hand. “This is my new weapon, modeled after that practice staff but much sturdier. And this is what it can do.” A flick of his eyes and the Wardenclyffe went live, and he spun the staff in front of him in a blaze of light, watching Thor’s expression as he split the staff and spun both, turning the power on and off in a pulse then stopping and coming back to a normal standing position. “No combat test, yet, but it seems to blaze through most material including many metals, and it’s a good blunt weapon as well.”

  
Thor smiled, watching his brother animatedly talk. “I knew the Man of Iron would take care of you.”

  
“Oh, indeed. I work for him now, he has given me an opportunity people of this world would be willing to kill for I’m sure. And I have no formal education for Midgard, but he gave me the job without a second thought.” Loki reconnected the staff and let it rest on end in front of him, rolling it a bit between his palms, feeling that vibration in the metal he was suspecting was not entirely Midgardian technology. “A bit odd, I’m sure you think, a prince of Asgard helping invent things for Midgard. Well, really I help build the things. I help make their ideas real. They are so far off into other galaxies, brother. I help pull them down to this earth, make their concepts physical. Rather enjoyable in its own way.”

  
“Brother, you have only ever done what you wanted.” Thor smiled again. “Often to the frustration of many, but I support you, you know that.”

  
“Well. Not really, but I suppose I am getting used to the fact.” He put Fenrir on his back and felt it cling there, heading back down the hallway nearly dragging Thor with, moving without thinking and opening the door to his lab, clapping his hands together twice in a gesture he’d gotten from Tony without even realizing it. “Jarvis? Light it up for me.” And his lab lit up around him, the screens popping on and the table coming back to life, showing what he was last working on. One of the screens was actually being used by Jarvis’ avatar, much like he’d last seen him, sitting on a STARK crate, watching them. He didn’t linger on it. “Tony set this all up for me.”

  
Thor looked around, stepping to the center of the room and turning around once, taking in all of the cabinets of tools and technology, then stopping to stare at the wireframe table for a long moment. “I’m glad, honestly. It’s about time someone saw fit to feed that mind of yours in a productive way.”

  
Loki made a face, turning on the coffee machine and getting out two mugs. “So, before I managed to teleport myself into a minor head trauma, you mentioned Odin. Anything exciting or just the usual dross?”

  
“Loki.” Thor gave him an exasperated look. “You called him father almost all your life, can’t you show an ounce of respect?” When Loki just looked at him and lifted eyebrow, he sighed, but smiled a bit too. “Well, to start I did speak to Heimdall but of course he was acting on instruction from father so, naturally that was something else to speak to father about.”

  
“So Odin has been having Heimdall watch me. Interesting, but I suppose I’d rather that be the explanation, instead of Heimdall just being creepy.” Loki flicked his eyes and turned the Wardenclyffe off, then set Fenrir aside, shrugging out of the jacket and gloves but leaving the glasses on for the moment.

  
Thor snickered. “Do you have any idea how good it is just to talk to you, brother? After such silence, and reluctant words after that.”

  
“I’m healing.” Loki didn’t look at him. “It is… not easy, sometimes. I have to fight to make any progress and it’s not an enemy that is so easily slain, since I am my own enemy.” He poured two mugs of coffee and passed one to Thor, nodding at him to take one of the other stools as he sat down. Talking in his lab was comfortable, somehow. This was his domain, his turf.

  
Thor grabbed a stool and sat next to the table easily, leaning one elbow on it, other hand holding the mug. “Father doesn’t understand.”

  
“You say that like I would be surprised, Thor.”

  
“He did inquire of you, and I told him what you asked me to tell him. Naturally that was not enough and that’s when I asked him about Heimdall’s orders.” He paused, staring into his mug. “I do not think he is at all happy with what he did to you.”

  
“What’s done is done, and I’m not going back.” Loki let his voice go cold. “This is home, now. This is a good place, Thor. I am safe, I am loved, I get recognition for creating things that can change the world. I am in no one’s shadow. I am equal to those around me. What more have I to need?”

  
The Asgardian watched him make this statement, and got caught between two totally opposing feelings. The first one being that he was watching his brother walk away from him, from his home, from what he’d always known. That his brother was leaving him, for a life that was but a blink, a candle in the wind. But at the same time, the odd feeling that his brother was coming back to him, finally escaping from the pain and torment that had bound him for so long and coming back, eyes bright and smiling and finally happy, after so long caught in traps of his own making. He wasn’t sure which way to lean so he just watched, and finally sighed. “It is your life, Loki. Do not think for a moment that I desire to make any decisions for you.”

  
That hung Loki up for a moment, staring at Thor for a moment. “Thank you.”

  
“For what?”

  
“Actually respecting my decision.”

  
Thor smiled a bit and took a sip of the coffee, recognizing whatever brand it was in Stark Tower, something expensive and rich. “Father… does not understand. Either of us, I fear. He remembers enough of Midgard to relate, in a tiny way, to what I go through. But he knows nothing of Midgard, now. Heimdall has been at a loss of words to describe what you are doing, which has been amusing in its own way. I told him that you are happy here and making your own way and father was… puzzled, I think.”

He hesitated. “I did end up telling him of your illness.”

  
“Oh, that had to be fun.” Loki snorted, taking a drink of his coffee.

  
“As said. He did not understand.” He wove the mug a little. “After all, for most appearances you are healthy. I tried to explain it was an illness of the mind, and that is was one of the reasons for what had happened and he was willing to accept that Midgardian medicine could deal with such things, but you being ill? He just looked at me and told me, in an infuriatingly gentle voice, that you’d always been this way and it was your nature.”

  
“My nature.” Loki looked away. “Like he knows anything about my nature.”

  
“That said, the Warriors Three accepted it.” Thor held back the laugh.

  
“I bet. They were always your friends, Thor, I was just your brother along for the ride.”

  
There was a long silence, the two sitting silently. The wire frame table went to idle, the monitors went to screen saver, and music picked up in the background, just enough to keep the silence of the lab level at bay, something quiet and ambient. Loki was momentarily thankful, beyond thankful, for Jarvis’ thoughtfulness at times.

  
“Loki. What happened to you?” Thor set the mug on the wireframe table and looked at him, eyes pleading. “What happened to you? How did you go from the one that always had my back, who tried to talk me down and understood, to the one who stabbed me without a glimmer of emotion? What happened?”

  
Loki looked away, hands working around his mug and swallowing hard. “When I am king, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all.”

  
Thor leaned back sharply. “Loki…”

  
“Do you remember saying that?” He closed his eyes, and for the first time he could really remember, let the glamour go, felt his skin flow to blue from his heart outwards, the soft dusky color rolling down his arms to take his hands, tilting his head back as it flushed up his neck, felt his eyes roll to red. And he felt the fire at his spine rise in response. So it was glamour. So he was still hiding, without really knowing it. And yet, mortal? He pushed the thought aside and opened his eyes, standing and letting his fingers clutch the edge of the table, staring at Thor, his hair hanging down. “Do you remember?”

  
Thor stared evenly back at him, not letting himself react to the change. He’d known, seen glimpses, but to actually see was different, especially now. “I do.”

  
“I always knew something, you know. You are the sun and I am the moon. We are opposed poles.” He looked away, swallowing again. “I played games. You know that. I was bored. I made my own entertainment. But then… when you went and picked a fight with Laufey… one of them touched me. And this happened.” He held up one of his hands, curling his fingers. “I am the monster that children fear. I am the one my brother wants to kill. I am a trophy stolen from the battlefield. I am Laufey’s Son, Thor. I am Jotun.”

  
“You are still my brother and I would never, ever desire to hurt you.” Thor replied, evenly.

  
“Even like this?” He threw out his arms. “Because this is me as I actually am!” He started pacing. “And Odin hid this from me. After he threw you down I confronted him, and he claimed it was to protect me.” His lip curled. “From who? And what? From you, perhaps?”

  
“Loki…”

  
“Just, stop. Just listen.” He folded his arms. “You asked, so listen. It’s done.” When Thor stayed silent, he continued. “And after all that, things made more sense. After all why would he want a frost giant on the throne of Asgard?” He snorted. “But plans already were moving. You weren’t there. Did he tell you, Thor? That I killed Laufey in cold blood to protect Odin while he was asleep?” He paused, watching Thor’s face. “Let’s go over that again, shall we? I slaughtered my blood father to protect my adoptive father. And what happened? Attacked by my brother, and the last words Odin said to me were ‘No, Loki’. Everything, all of it for him. And just… ‘No.’” He looked away again. “What happened to me? Your father did. He built me, he broke me, he threw me out. And for him to claim for any amount of time now that he cares about my well being? It just twists the figurative dagger he left in my side. Again, and again, and again. And to know, that if I am to have any closure, any life, that I will have to speak to him? The blade may as well be poisoned.”

  
Thor stood silently and stepped over, pulling Loki into a hug, one arm at his back the other cradling the back of his head, not concerned at all when it wasn’t returned. “Laufeyson or Odinson, Asgardian or Jotun or Midgardian. You are my brother. We played together, we fought together, you patched my wounds and taught me and listened when even the Warriors Three tired of me. You are my brother, and I will protect you. If you think you were wronged then you were wronged. Your pain is proof enough.”

  
Loki let himself be held, felt the glamour spell restarting and stopped it. He was starting to understand how it worked, at least he hoped. Either way there was no reason to hide his appearance right now. “He has leverage over me, you know. He has Sleipnir. He can find Fenrir.”

  
“He would never hurt your children, Loki.”

  
Loki’s laugh was more a sob. “Why not? He hurts his own.”

  
Thor listened to the mad edge of betrayal in his brother’s voice, and sighed, not moving. “Do not feel like you have to hide your pain from me.” He kept his voice quiet and was rewarded with a whimper, Loki trembling in his arms. Thor didn’t even know where the ground was under his feet at this point, but he was not going to argue Loki’s pain with him. And it was very raw, very worrying, to hear his brother speak in fear of his children.

  
Thor did not doubt his father’s wisdom. Usually. But standing where he was, cradling his agonized enraged terrified broken healing brother, it was easy to doubt. He’d asked Odin why Odin had chosen permanent exile to Midgard for Loki, and all Odin had told him was that the crimes he had to answer for were mainly of Midgard, and it seemed Loki took to Midgard easily enough. And Thor had realized, in that split second, that he’d been allowed to take his brother from the quiet places to Midgard as a test, to see how Loki would deal with such a thing. And he’d felt like he’d betrayed Loki, unknowingly, even though it’d been so good to see Loki smiling after.

  
“I do not know how to help you.” Thor finally said, listening to Loki’s soft hiccupping sobs.

  
“Oh, Thor…” Loki sighed, leaning his forehead against the armor of one of his brother’s shoulders, thinking. “When you return… and do not think I am hurrying you… could you relay a message to Odin for me?”

  
“Of course. What would you have me tell him?”

  
“Tell him, Loki says… ‘If you care enough to spy on me, you care enough to come to Midgard and speak to me, one last time. You care enough to let me say goodbye to my children. Or turn your eyes from me, Odin.’” He let out a slow breath. “That is all.”

  
“When I return, I will tell him.” Thor swore, and held Loki until the trembles stopped, until he felt strong enough to let go.

* * *

 

“How fair the brothers, Jarvis?” Tony asked, pondering the pile of electronics they’d created on top of the Wardenclyffe charger.

  
“They are talking seriously, sir. I feel it would be a breach of privacy to say anything else.”

  
“As long as they aren’t trying to kill each other, I’m not too worried.” Tony took a sip of his drink. “Well, Bruce, any ideas?”

  
Bruce was doing math in his head as he checked the charges on the various electronics, returning Clint’s phone to him from the bottom of the pile. “Well, nothing seems overcharged. Stacking things doesn’t seem to disrupt it. Reaching into the active field tingles, somewhat.” He wiggled his fingers thoughtfully, grinning when Tony reached over and put a hand on the box, lifting an eyebrow at it. “This is a piece of science fiction, Tony. We bent a few laws of physics making this.”

  
“Well, it’s one of the oldest pieces of science fiction then.” Tony took everything off of it and hefted it up. “I want to try something else.”

  
Fifteen minutes later the box was effectively running the entire entertainment system. Setting a plug on top of it seemed to give the box the general idea. There wasn’t a whole lot of programming involved in it, it was basically just a little power generator without a plug required.

  
“So, here I am playing Xbox 360. Which is being powered by one of your arc reactors and some kind of Tesla perversion of science.” Clint said, though didn’t even miss a beat in the game. “I’m just saying.”

  
“This IS a little low key for you, Tony.” Steve said. He also had an Xbox controller in his hands.

  
Tony and Bruce looked at each other. Five minutes later everything was plugged back into the wall and they were carrying the device between them, going down to the garage level. They set the box on the hood of Tony’s newly rebuilt, but as yet totally without gas, car. The car’s starter whirred, but the engine died immediately. Not wanting to damage the newly rebuilt car, Tony opened his mechanic’s shop. The box ran everything contained inside, no issues at all.

  
“Well. This is getting spooky.” Bruce said.

  
“Size up?” Tony asked.

  
“Size up.”

  
Two hours, a lot of running around the city, and some money passed between hands later, they found out the box had no effect on the old technology of diesel semi tractors. It could, however, move an empty subway train at full speed. Carrying it into an electronics store made entire shelves turn on as they passed. Eventually they carried it into a coffee shop, because it was cold as hell outside mostly.

  
Tony stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled after they’d parked the device on the table. Everyone looked up, or pretended they didn’t, hipster level depending. “This device charges electronics without need of wires to do so. We are in field testing. Kindly make use of it over the next hour or so.”

  
It might as well have been a spell of summon Apple products, because ten minutes later they were drinking coffee and staring at a mountain of Mac books, iPhones, iPads, iPods, and the odd e-reader of various brand name. And a few random Stark phones, which pleased Tony in a quiet way.

  
“This thing is creepy.” Bruce finally said, watching everything happen.

  
“Not really. It’s stuck in an on position. It’s designed to put power to SOMETHING, so by Tesla’s name it is, to whatever it’s touching or whatever’s nearby.” Tony replied, holding up his cup for a refill silently, watching a college student get their iPad free from the stack of electronics. “And it’s just like anything else. Probably any given coffee shop on the planet would love to have one of these around.”

  
“Nobody is going to let you sell a product that’s running on a palladium arc reactor and vibranium based Wardenclyffe. At least, not let you sell it to general public. I somehow doubt they’re ready for that.” Bruce pointed out.

  
Tony sighed and tilted his head back. “You’re right, of course. So, besides this giving us a way to seriously power up Loki if he so desires… what the hell do we do with this? I don’t want this to end up a toy of the DOD or the rich. I mean, it’s basically the world’s most efficient generator. Think of the good this could do in third world countries.”

  
“Yeah, and think of the mayhem it could cause, too. And really, considering the rare materials going in to making these…” He huffed, watching a college age girl play her hands through the tingly field of the Wardenclyffe charger, giggling. “You also seem to have made the world’s most expensive sex toy.”

  
“Dude.” Tony dissolved into a fit of laughter. “That is awesome.”

  
It was wearing past dinnertime by the time they returned to the tower, toting the box between them by the handles Loki had thoughtfully provided in the design. If nothing else, they’d charged a lot of peoples’ random electronics, and done some rough practical testing.

  
“We may be at the mercy of our peers here.” Tony said out loud. “We publish the paper. Definitely include a section about marrying the Wardenclyffe to a miniature arc reactor. After that? Put out a call for suggestions. Someone will have a good idea. I’m out of them, at the moment.”

  
“That’s as viable an idea as any.” Bruce agreed. “Whose name is going on this? Yours? This is your brainchild you know.”

  
“Stark Private Labs.” Tony said after a moment as they got on the elevator. “That’s you, me, and Loki. Let’s just start putting that on everything. Easier.”

  
“I agree in concept, but the name fills me with ennui.”

  
“Well, ‘Candyland Labs’ isn’t very professional. Not that we’re very professional but, point stands.”

  
“Let’s think on it a bit.”

  
“Agreed.”


	19. Chapter 19

Loki sat on the balcony of the apartment he, Pepper, and Tony shared. Eventually, he’d calmed, and he and Thor had started talking again, the subject changing to his reemerging magic and the drastically different nature of it compared to how it used to be. It was far from Thor’s expertise but he’d said something inspired.

  
“You used to meditate to contact the beyond and clear your mind, brother, have you meditated at all since coming to this world?”

  
Well, point for Thor. So he’d sent Thor to join the others and quietly retreated to the balcony. It was still bitter cold outside, to others anyway, he sat in jeans, a t-shirt, and his new coat, cross legged on the cold cement, eyes closed and feeling the wind against his Jotun skin. It may as well have been a caress, a call of a home world he’d never truly known. Jarvis had warned him with concern in his voice that with the wind chill it was below zero on the balcony, and he was utterly at home. He’d plugged headphones into his phone and found the Stark Tower playlists on it, bringing up the ambient music Jarvis had been playing earlier and putting that on to block out the sounds of the city around him, and lost himself in the wind and cold.

  
And the world and universe opened up around him, meditation opening up old pathways, comfortable old corridors his mind used to walk, dark and cold and crushed velvet. He’d never been shy to reach out and contact other things in his quest to open up his magic further, to add to his mental spellbook, and now there wasn’t so much a map he was following as the gentle feeling of spirit paths. Where you walk across a field and instead of taking a straight path you wander in an aimless, curvy line that your feet choose. And he wandered, and breathed, and made contact with the parts of himself he’d long denied, suppressed, and ignored.

  
When Odin had thrown Thor down, it had been effective. Thor had been left with his training but no power at all. But Odin and Thor were both Asgardian. He was Jotun, and he felt himself laugh when he realized the sheer ridiculousness of all of it. Why had Odin thought that what was fit for the goose was fit for the Arctic fox, or some other such nonsense? Certainly he’d rendered Loki something close to mortal, but he’d utterly failed in making Loki Midgardian. And now, power was coming back to him like a slow and ebbing tide. It was different, of course. This was nearly all instinctual, and seemed to be mostly Jotun in nature (though he suspected the teleportation was a leftover of Asgardian training, as was the healing, new spells trying to fit in with old).

  
He was neither Asgard, nor Jotun, but the two halves had connected in the middle. And Loki sat outside on the balcony, formed ice daggers in his hands to a wondering smile, and felt oddly… content.

  
He sat on the balcony, head leaning back against the wall, and smiled. He’d sat there quite some time before he finally picked up his phone (which he’d tucked close to his body in an attempt to keep the electronics from being damaged by the chill), stopping the playlist and paging through his numbers, tapping one with his thumb and shifting the microphone the headphone cable had built into it so it was hidden in the collar of his jacket. Hopefully that’d keep the wind off it, a bit.

  
“Loki?” Dr. Snitz’s voice echoed in his headphones.

  
“Sorry for the suddenness of this call, doctor.” He shifted, letting his legs stretch out in front of him.

  
“No, no. I told you, you can call me whenever you need to.” She paused. “Did something happen?”

  
“Yes. But I think it’s a good thing.”

  
“Do you want to talk about it?”

  
“Yes. I do. Do you have time?”

  
“Of course. Begin whenever you like.”

* * *

 

Tony looked around the rumpus room curiously. Everyone was home, and Pepper had shown up, using a mail cart to bring in a truly obscene amount of sushi. He didn’t even want to know how she expensed it, given the appetite that most of the Avengers was capable of. Either way there was now a rather impressive spread taking over the bar and the coffee table, and she’d joined them, and the mood was merry. Thor had stopped by his apartment and ditched the armor for casual clothing. Still, it didn’t take him long to realize the room was missing someone fairly important from his standpoint.

  
“Hey, Jarvis. Where’s Loki?” He asked, collecting some of his favorite sushi on a plate with some rice. “He’s missing out.”

  
“Loki is on your balcony, sir.”

  
Tony stopped. “What’s the wind chill right now?”

  
“Roughly ten below, a bit lower when it gusts, sir. He’s been outside three hours, twenty-three minutes and fifteen seconds. His vitals are stable. Currently, he is talking to Dr. Snitz on the phone.”

  
He didn’t even know how to react to that. “Well, if you see a polite point to interrupt, could you tell him there’s sushi upstairs? Wouldn’t want him to go hungry.”

  
“Certainly, sir.”

  
Fifteen or so minutes later, the elevator dinged and Loki breezed in, in jeans, a concert shirt (Sevenfold, Tony noted) and his coat, open. His skin had gone blue and his eyes red, but with every step that dropped out, pale Loki returning to the world, and with a blink the red was gone from his eyes, the green cat eyes returning. “Thank you, Tony, I am rather hungry.”

  
“I didn’t want to interrupt, but…” He shrugged and rummaged through containers. In addition to the massive spread of rolls Pepper had got them each a sashimi bento box, and he found Loki’s in the pile, passing it to him with a set of real (engraved, washable, not to be thrown away) chopsticks.

  
“No, it was fine, the discussion was really done anyway.” Loki smiled and accepted the box.

  
“Jarvis said you were outside damn near four hours total. Are you feeling okay?”

  
Loki smiled at him again. “I was more than comfortable. Frost giant, remember? Is there tea?”

  
“There is… somewhere…” He moved around the bar and found a cast iron tea kettle on the stove, pouring Loki a mug and passing it, then shrugging and pouring himself some, stepping back around and walking with Loki to the crowded conversation pit. “I need to buy more chairs, don’t I?”

  
“I’d settle for some beanbags.” Clint said.

  
“Fine, you know what? I’m going to buy you one of those gigantic lovesac things. Just so we can make nest jokes.” Tony said, sitting on the floor because he had no issue with it and also because the rug was comfortable anyway, one of those ridiculously fluffy things that looked like someone had skinned the abominable snowman. He didn’t remember who’d picked it out, or when, it was just one of those decorations that showed up when he wasn’t looking.

  
Clint snorted, still working on his own sashimi bento box. “You know, I want to be upset about that, but I really can’t.”

  
“You’ll never pry his ass out of that thing if you buy him one.” Natasha remarked. She was sitting on the back of the couch so her legs were between Clint and Steve. As she was in yoga pants, Steve’s manners meant he had a hard time looking even in that direction without turning various shades, friends or not.

  
“Hey, it’ll make him easy to find.” Tony replied.

  
“You’re also assuming I just won’t haul it down to my apartment.” Clint pointed out.

  
“Fine, I’ll get two.”

  
Loki, meanwhile, had given up and also sat on the floor, having taken off his jacket and set it aside, not looking up from his food when he saw the looks from the others. “Yes, I can turn blue. It’s my actual skin color, and it makes me resistant to cold. This is a disguise. That cover everything?”

  
“Just about.” Pepper agreed. She got off the couch and joined them on the floor, which let Steve bump down and Natasha actually sit on the couch proper.

  
“You realize I want to set up passive sensors in your lab and track how your body changes with your skintone, right?” Bruce said. “No offense, or anything.”

  
“None taken. Go ahead, in fact, I’d be curious to see it myself.” Loki shrugged. “I’m still figuring out how this works.”

  
“So you did come to some kind of conclusion?” Thor asked. He was sprawled out comfortable in a chair, drinking a beer, having demolished more than his fair share of the sushi. Which as a food he’d never entirely understood, but he wasn’t going to turn down a proffered meal either.

  
Loki nodded, eating rice with his chopsticks. “I’m still Jotun, or at least the heritage is there. But I was raised Asgardian, and now I’m mortal, so it’s all become a rather odd blend really.”

  
“I could probably bring some texts from home if it’d help you, next time I visit.”

  
Loki perked up some more. “Actually that might. Thank you. If they have something on Jotun magic, bring it for me.”

  
“Well, since everyone’s here.” Natasha said. “Thor, Fury talked to us not long ago. Nobody on Asgard is randomly poking at this planet, right?”

  
“How so?” Thor wanted to know.

  
“Fury said they’re seeing atmospheric disturbances that don’t quite match up with how you get here, scattered around the world.”

  
Thor shook his head. “It should not be anyone from Asgard. I believe I am the only one traveling between our worlds right now. So, if it is not me…”

  
“Chitauri hunting party.” Loki said, chopsticks tapping together slowly.

  
“Now, we don’t know that, brother.” Thor looked at him.

  
“And what else would it be?” Loki replied.

  
“Let’s say it is. Why the random casting about then?” Bruce said. “They know where to find us.”

  
“Which might be why they aren’t looking here.” Steve said. “Potentially they’re trying to avoid us.”

  
“I’m the quarry.” Loki said. “It’s possible they can’t get a lock on my location, with how my power is diminished. So they’re doing a methodical search to see if they can get a trail. After all, why would they think I’d be here with you all? Bit at odds with what happened, really.”

  
“Well, I don’t like sitting around waiting for something to happen.” Clint said. “I’d just as soon another attack not happen in this city.”

  
“Good point.” Tony said. “That wouldn’t end well for anyone or anything. So the question is, can we bring the fight to them?”

  
“Not a bad idea.” Thor rubbed his chin. “If they’re moving in any kind of pattern…”

  
“Fury didn’t give us a whole lot of specifics.” Steve said.

  
“I think we need to fix that tomorrow.” Bruce said. “It’s hard to make any calls when you don’t have necessary data.”

  
“Agreed.” Natasha said. “Everyone good with this?” This got nods all around. “I’ll talk to Fury tomorrow morning, see if something can be arranged.”

  
“Better you or Clint than the rest of us probably.” Tony said. “I don’t know why Fury even bothers calling me.”

  
“Usually because you piss him off.” Clint said.

  
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

* * *

 

“You don’t have to hide it here, you know.”

  
Loki looked up. Tony was standing at his computer setup in the apartment. He had a tall stool but normally when he was at these screens he was standing, anywhere from three to five screens up around him, multitasking to get through business related things. Loki was on the couch, down to sweat shorts and a tank top, with his e-reader. Pepper had joined him, curled up half laying on him against his chest, with her own e-reader. “Hmm? What do you mean?”

  
“Your skin. Seriously, if it’s more comfortable for you, the blue doesn’t bother me.” Tony said, not looking up from what he was doing. He was in jeans and an undershirt, barefoot on the rug.

  
“Everyone always stares.” Loki said after a moment.

  
“Well, you’re a bit of a one off on this planet. Humans come in many and various shades of beige, brown, even some reds, but not blue.” Tony glanced at him, expression unreadable. “Means you’re kind of the ultimate exotic, but it doesn’t make you in any way horrible or scary.”

  
“If you’re certain.” He said after a moment, glancing down at Pepper, who looked back and nodded. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, finding the ‘off’ switch for the glamour after a moment and feeling it fuzz away, the blue taking over in seconds and his eyes rolling over to red. Pepper’s touch and warmth nearly reactivated the glamour, he stubbornly left it off and went back to what he was reading, feeling Pepper looking at him. “And now you’re staring.”

  
“It’s … really beautiful actually.” She replied. “And I just figured something out.”

  
He looked back at her, quirking an eyebrow at the smile playing across her lips. “Really? And what did you figure out?”

  
She leaned up and bit one of his ears before replying. “Your eyes always get little flicks of red in them when you’re trying not to come. And now I know why.”

  
Tony burst into laughter and pointed at her. “Wow. Good point, I noticed that too.”

  
“I do?” Loki asked, blinking and quirking an eyebrow again.

  
“Yes. Little stripes of red in your irises and even across your pupils sometimes, just for split seconds.” Pepper licked his ear where she’d bit it then settled back down, returning to her book.

  
He twitched and rubbed his ear, musing on the fact that these two had apparently come close to fucking him right out of his glamour spell. Intriguing. “Today has been very strange.”

  
“Am I allowed to ask how things went with Thor or is that verboten?” Tony wanted to know, then paused, lifting an eyebrow at something on his screens. “Pepper, nuclear concept cars, yes or no?”

  
“How are they planning on licensing all of them?” She replied.

  
“Yeah, I’m not sure I’m feeling it either. I kind of want one though, they gave it some sexy lines.”

  
“Of course you do.” She snickered. Because the reactor powering the building, the one keeping him alive, and the who-knew-how-many (probably the NRC knew) in the lab weren’t enough reactors to keep Tony amused. She wondered if he even realized he’d started a collection. Or maybe this was just another Tony-loves-cars moment. Maybe both.

  
“I think Thor and I are better, now.” Loki finally said, having shifted slightly so he could play with Pepper’s hair with his free hand.

  
“That is a very good thing.” Pepper tilted her head to kiss his chin. “But, strange?”

  
“I never expected him to be on my side instead of Odin’s. That he actually listened, and that we able to actually talk to each other, instead of screaming at each other, was both mildly frightening and a relief.” He set the e-reader aside, tilting his head back to rest against the arm of the couch and staring at the ceiling. “And after I was able to settle with what I am, or at least, start to settle with it. So, yes. Strange, at times painful, but… I think today was a good day.”

  
Tony only smiled, and shut the screens off.

  
It was later, and Loki was sprawled on his stomach in bed, when his dozing was interrupted by Tony and Pepper giggling, and he felt one of Tony’s fingers draw something on his back, felt like a capital letter ‘A’ actually. “What exactly is so amusing at this hour?” His voice was a mumble, but he couldn’t help but smile.

  
“Your skin changes color where we touch you.” Pepper said. “So we can leave patterns.”

  
“Sit still we’re playing hangman.” Tony said dryly.

  
“And he’s being a jerk and using obscure science terms.” Pepper pouted, staring at Loki’s back. Maybe it was because Loki wasn’t actually awake but their hands left pale skin wherever they touched him, which slowly faded back to blue. Tony had timed it out to eight minutes and some-odd seconds.

  
Loki couldn’t stop the rolling laugh from building in his chest. “You’re doing what now?”

  
“Playing Hangman. It’s a really simple Midgardian game, finding out a mystery word by guessing letters but you can only guess wrong letters so many times.” Tony said. “We were playing tic tac toe earlier.”

  
“I am not a canvas.” Loki muttered.

  
“Oh, I beg to differ, you should have seen yourself when I first figured this out, I had you covered in a shaded robot schematic.”

  
“Do you people ever sleep?” He sighed and relaxed back out.

  
“And I’m hanged. What the hell is the word?” Pepper said, and watched Tony write it in “Zamboni?! Tony, just…”

  
Then Loki had to turn his head and watch because the other two were suddenly in a wrestling match, so he rolled on his side to spectate, twitching the skin of his back once to shake off what they’d drawn there, feeling the fragments of the glamour spell dissipate. It was a curious way to be accepted, but he’d take it. Especially when Tony cheerfully tossed Pepper into his arms, so he caught her, the pair quickly silencing her protests about being ganged up on.

  
Today had been a very good day, really.

* * *

 

The next day found Loki in the lab early, discussing lens materials with Jarvis and putting several more choices through the wringer before they finally found one that both functioned as a safety lens and could also respond quickly to the HUD display. Of course it wasn’t cheap, but Jarvis told him not to worry about the bottom line of the budget and turned out a set of lenses. He opened up his glasses and switched them out, then worked on putting together a second set.

  
He’d never really got to discuss glasses with Clint, but he found himself extrapolating information out, changing the targeting system to be maximized for a bow, adding a subsystem that could work with the variable arrowheads Clint used. Distance vision was important to Clint so he ramped up the resolution. Clint maintained a different style than Loki did, the frames and lenses were a different shape, though he stayed with the matte black with red lenses.

  
By the time Tony showed up in his doorway, still looking half asleep, he was closing up the second pair of glasses and hooking them to the computer to get the HUD downloaded. For lack of a Wardenclyffe, he’d added a strap to the back of the glasses that would help secure them and hid some batteries there, pushing the life of the glasses from a spare third of a day to a week in constant use. Long term, he’d have to talk over with Clint.

  
“You’ve been busy.” Tony said, walking over and refilling his coffee mug for him.

  
“I wanted to get this done, if we’re going to end up in combat soon.” Loki replied.

  
“Yeah, there’s way too much I was hoping to get done that’s languished.” Tony agreed. “I was hoping to get everyone into that same kind of armor you’re in, for example.”

  
“The cloth? It’s fabulous stuff.” Loki replied. “I don’t see why anyone would say no. Well, maybe Bruce.”

  
“Yeah, armor’s not a concern for Bruce as long as he’s in the right body.” He considered. “Jarvis, do we know anything about a ship out?”

  
“Miss Romanov is currently on the phone with Shield, sir. I have no other information.”

  
“Alright, priorities. Thor doesn’t need gear, Bruce doesn’t, I’ve already modded out Steve’s armor, I mean I could do more but he’s been upgraded.”

  
“Clint and Natasha.” Loki said. “They are going to be upset with us.”

  
“Well, at least we can say that we offered. Let’s see what we can get done.”

  
Loki and Tony teamed up on armor renders, though they went fast, Tony somehow pulled up their uniform requisitions from Shield and went from there, shoving those designs into the new cloth and altering them as needed. During this, Loki decided fuck-it and started a third pair of glasses, now getting used to building them, changing the design again and starting a third file for Natasha, changing the HUD again, shifting it to focus on close quarters combat.

  
“I’m pretty sure I’ve violated your HUD software in unspeakable ways at this point, Stark.” Loki remarked. He still didn’t quite grasp programming code itself, but when Jarvis displayed it as disparate elements on a screen or wire frame table, he sorted through what he wanted and went from there. “Potentially Jarvis as well, at this point.”

  
“Jarvis, do you feel violated?” Tony wanted to know.

  
“I’m not even sure what that would feel like, sir.” Jarvis replied, a bit stiffly.

  
“As for my HUD software, don’t worry about it, Jarvis is really used to adapting programming on the fly like you’re doing, the important part is you know what to ask for.”

  
“What are you two girls gossiping about?” Steve appeared in the doorway, smiling a bit, hands propped on the doorframe so he filled roughly ninety percent of the egress.

  
“Steve Rogers, I never.” Tony replied, grinning.

  
“Don’t tell me you never.” Loki snorted. “We’re trying to get some combat gear thrown together, Steve.”

  
“Anything good?” He stepped fully into the lab, looking at the glasses on Loki’s table.

  
“Nothing for you at the moment if that’s what you mean.” Tony was watching the progress of the armor coming together on a projected screen.

  
“I’d hope so, my gear’s just fine. Can I try a set of these on?”

  
“These are mine, try them on.” Loki replied, passing them up. “These are for Clint and Natasha so they have greatly altered HUDs, once everything is uploaded.”

  
“Sir, I just received a message from Director Fury.” Jarvis said. “The helicarrier has made port here.”

  
Tony blinked. “Wow. I guess they saw our idea coming.”

  
“It’s not like there’s many secrets around this place.” Steve said, looking around. “You made these, Loki? Nice.” He took them off and folded them gently, passing them back carefully.

  
“Thank you.”

  
“Sir, the armor sets are complete.” Jarvis said. Tony managed to get by Steve, taking the stairs down to the manufacturing levels.

  
“And the software just finished on these glasses…”Loki said, looking at his screen then unplugging them from the computer, closing them up the rest of the way, pausing and looking at Steve. “You’re in command during battle, are you not?”

  
“That is the way it’s worked so far. Usually it’s like herding cats, but when everyone actually listens and calls back, it works like a well-oiled machine.” Steve said, dry. “That said, with everything being so quiet I hope we aren’t out of practice.”

  
“And now you have an extra gear in the works.” Loki blew out a sigh.

  
“Well, you’re ground combat mostly, with the added bonus of some, well, magic right?” Steve considered. “We’ll have to get everyone into mics and we’re going to have to call targets to each other. Coordination, right?”

  
“How about you run your machine and I pick up wherever the cracks show for now?” He replied. “Thor and I have fought beside each other before, I should be able to adapt.”

  
“We’ll talk more about it once we have a better idea of what we’re up against.”

  
“The Chitauri, Steve. They want me dead.” Loki shrugged with one shoulder.

  
“Let’s just try to keep them out of New York this time.” Tony reappeared, carrying an armload of folded cloth. “So, we know if…”

  
“Sir, Natasha is asking for everyone to come upstairs. Casual assemble.” Jarvis said.

  
“It’s going to be one of those days isn’t it.” Tony looked at Steve. Steve considered, then nodded. “Alright then, once more into the breach. Grab the glasses and come on, Loki, you’re part of the assemble call now.”

* * *

 

“Hey, thanks for the help.” Tony said, walking beside some of the helicarrier crew as the Avengers gear was moved in and set up. A series of decisions had been made rapid fire, and the fact that this was not an urgent combat call had been pointed out. So they were all plainclothes, which meant the containers he’d set up were being put into use. They looked like normal STARK Industries crates, but they were mobile Avengers armories, containing everything the group needed to gear up. Easy to prepare, easy to load, hell of a lot more convenient.

  
Of course, since this was more of a hunt, they had no idea how long they were going to be. So everyone also had gear bags. And that had been awkward, he’d had to pull Pepper out of a meeting to tell her what was going on. And she always gave him the same kind of look, the ‘don’t you dare come back dead’ look and always asked the same question. “How long are you going to be gone?”

  
He had no answer, but told her they were going to be on the helicarrier and he’d keep checking in. She’d only nodded, her expression not changing, and pulled him into a kiss, then roped Loki into it, the three of them standing together in the hallway for a few moments before she wished them luck and returned to her meeting.

  
Loki was now at Tony’s other side, obviously a bit on edge. He was in his motorcycle boots, tailored jeans and a “Property of Stark Industries” shirt. He’d thrown his jacket from his armor set on over it, Fenrir broke down into halves and riding his back, glasses on top of his head. He’d pulled his hair back in a loose ponytail, and his eyebrows seemed stuck in the ‘concerned’ position. But then, it was entirely understandable: probably the entire crew of the helicarrier would not have passed up an opportunity to beat Loki with his own weapons.

  
“That’s everything.” Tony told Steve, picking his bag back up.

  
“Let’s go then.” Steve said, the group gathering up and following Steve, all carrying whatever bags they had with them. Clint had his new glasses on the back of his neck, somehow, Natasha had hooked hers into the collar of her shirt for later close inspection.  
Tony shifted the bag to the shoulder strap and got out his phone, thumbs cheerfully tapping and taking over the helicarrier’s PA system, grinning when ‘Bad to the Bone’ started playing as they walked out of the cargo area and into the ship proper.

  
“Very professional.” Natasha smirked.

  
“You love it.” Tony replied, pocketing the phone. “Besides, Fury’s gotten used to it.”

  
Loki shifted to walk near the center of the group, sticking close to Tony and Bruce. “They were nice enough to tell everyone here that I’ve switched sides, correct?”

  
“That’s what Fury said, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to be mad at you.” Clint replied.

  
“Oh, no, I agree. If the roles were reversed, the walls and floor would be red with blood by now. Still, just making sure.” Loki shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat, feeling the pill bottle in one of them and finding it curiously grounding. He was fine. He was with his friends and family and he was fine, if on edge.

  
“Settle, brother, they will learn.” Thor said, smiling a touch.

  
Loki managed a smile back. “I’ll have to earn that, Thor.”

  
“You’ll have that chance soon enough if any of this is true.”

  
Then they were stepping onto the command deck, Fury waiting for them with a lifted eyebrow. “Nice choice in music this time, Stark. Afternoon, Avengers.”

  
“Told you he’s gotten used to it.” Tony poked Natasha’s shoulder. “Afternoon, Fury. Where do we stand? I’m sick of working with an information deficit.”

  
“Nice outfit, Real Power. Trying not to call attention to yourself?” Fury turned his gaze on Loki. The rest of the command deck seemed to take this as permission to full on stare.

  
Loki returned Fury’s gaze. “It may surprise you but I do have the ability to, as they say, tone it down.”

  
“Right. Everyone, go ahead and take a good look at him. We’re not getting rid of him for a while.” Fury looked around at the rest of the command deck.

  
“A while? Try ever.” Tony replied sweetly. “Go ahead, fuck with me on this. Now, information deficit? Supposed data? Preferably raw so we can be free from whatever biases your people have?”

  
“You know what? That sounds like a great idea. You know where the lab is, get your ass off my deck and take your playmates with you. Oh, and welcome back, Dr. Banner. Thank you for sticking around.”

  
“I was offered a good deal.” Bruce smiled a bit. “But, good to be back, I guess.”

  
“We’ll try not to let him break it this time. Come on Bruce, Loki, let’s leave them to whatever they’re doing.” And Tony was back out of the room, dragging them with.

  
“I’m not entirely surprised at how you treat your ranking officers.” Loki said.

  
“Pfft. I’m not Military. I’m barely Shield, hell, I was flat out rejected from the Avengers at first. They know that, I know that.” Tony paused in the hallway. “And actually, I don’t remember where the lab is. Bruce?”

  
“What would you do without me?” Bruce snickered and took the lead.

  
“Be amazingly depressed and lonely probably. Life without my braintwin? How would I go on?”

  
“So what will the others be doing while we deal with this?” Loki wanted to know, trying to ignore the crew that watched them go by. Everyone else on the ship seemed to be in uniform, they were all in expensive tailored clothing. It was like a short multicolored parade of lunacy as directed by Tony Stark.

  
“I don’t know. Military stuff. They’ll tell us when we need to start caring.” Tony replied, getting his phone back out. “Hey, Jarvis. You still got a back door into this place?”

  
“Yes I do, sir.” Jarvis replied.

  
“Awesome, you willing to help us out with this data?”

  
“I’ll have it waiting for you when you reach the lab sir.”

  
“Jarvis spoils us.” Bruce said. “I tried to use a normal laptop a few days ago and it was incredibly awkward and slow. I’ve gotten used to him filling in everything as I go.”

  
“He’s good at his job.” Tony grinned as they made a turn, then they were stepping into the lab.

* * *

 

“Well, this is what you wanted. Is it going how you figured it would?” Fury put his hands on his hips, staring at the figure behind the desk.

  
“Yes. Tony Stark is nothing if not predictable, on a lot of fronts. Of course on the other fronts he’s a loose cannon.” The other man just barely smiled, sitting back with his hands laced together. He had multiple screens up, showing what the computers were doing in the lab. The data was being taken apart, and meanwhile Tony was digging through Shield’s computers again. Not that that was entirely surprising considering what happened the last time.

  
“Yeah, no shit.” Fury shook his head. “Look, I generally try to respect your decisions. You’ve had a good record on what calls you’ve made. But I’ve not been feeling this one. At all.”

  
“A fact that you’ve never failed to remind me of, but there’s no backsies on this one, Director Fury, unless you want to take apart the Avengers.” He paused, seeing Fury’s look. “You know it’s true. You’d lose Stark immediately. He’s not subtle, and he’s not trying to cover up what’s going on there. Banner would follow Stark, because Stark’s the only reason he’s here at all and that’s where his loyalty actually is. Captain Rogers would grit his teeth, and be a soldier, but he’d never forget what he would consider the betrayal of one of his men. Thor, well, it’s his brother. He wouldn’t walk away. He’d probably turn on us, in fact, and with him comes the brunt of Asgard.” He paused again. “Clint and Natasha were Shield first. They’d stay with Shield, but they wouldn’t forget either.”

  
“Oh, I know you’re right. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Fury made a noise of disgust.

  
“Besides, Director. Any geek will tell you that you can’t have a good raid party without a spell caster.” The man at the desk smiled beatifically. “Let it ride. We’ll see how it ends.”

  
Fury shook his head and left the office, hearing it lock heavily behind him, and hearing music from far down the hall, echoing from the lab. The helicarrier was already moving, streaming out of port and heading for international water so they could take off expediently. It had been a while since the Avengers had assembled on the carrier, and it always brought an element of chaos to the works. If loose cannons could fly in formation, that’d be the Avengers.

  
But, it had been his idea, and it was working.

  
So, he agreed, and let it ride.


	20. Chapter 20

“Once I included dates in the data points, it started making sense.” Loki was saying, shrugging out of his jacket. He’d already taken off Fenrir and reconnected the staff, leaving it leaning in a corner of the room, and he draped the jacket over a chair. The black with white font “Property of Stark Industries” shirt had been what he thought was an inspired move to put on. The shirts were available in the gym and in the lab, basically as emergency replacement shirts. He’d grabbed one and put it on as a statement to the helicarrier crew, and he’d seen a lot of uniformed crew glancing at it.

  
“Sort by date?” Bruce said, and changed how he was displaying the data. “Oh, you’re right. They suddenly narrow their scope to this hemisphere.”

  
“Right after I got thrown down.” Loki stepped over, pointing at it. “That one was two days after I crashed. They caught the trail of me landing on this part of the world but didn’t get an exact heading so they discarded the rest of this planet from the search.”  
“So, they know you’re on this part of the globe but not where, so they’re taking random sample points hoping to catch your trail again.” Tony said, deep in Shield computers on his screen. He’d already figured out twice that he was being put to ghost drives. Probably there was an entire IT department in a fight with him right now, and he was enjoying it. “But you’re mortal so you’re probably putting out a lot smaller signal then they would normally be looking for.”

  
“Something like that yes.” Loki agreed. “They actually appear to be working their way south and east, slowly.”

  
“Then the pattern changes again… Wait, that coincides with Malibu.” Bruce said. “Thor. They caught Thor’s trail.”

  
“Exactly. And they check it, discard it as junk, and return to whatever pattern they’re using.” Loki said, and paused, looking over his shoulder. The lab had windows along the walls, and the crew of the ship were slowly walking by, watching them. Tony and Bruce were ignoring it, but then the eyes weren’t on them, they were on him. He shook off and put his glasses down as he felt his eyes roll to red and refuse to swap back. He fought with it for a moment then took a step back, and watched himself start to unravel, and pressed his palms together on reflex, bringing them up and leaning his face against the edge of his hands, kicking into meditation breathing. Settle, his brother had said. If only he knew how hard it was.

  
“You okay?” Tony looked up from his harassment of the carrier’s IT department. They’d started leaving each other notes, mostly Tony pointing out how they were fucking up security and them calling him a sanctimonious arrogant ass.  
“To be blunt, I am… under stress. This is not a comfortable place for me.” Loki shook his head.

  
“It’s not a comfortable place for me either.” Bruce said.

  
“You do arguably have a better reason. Though it was my fault, of course.” He bit his lower lip, thinking, and then tried to shake off that whole train of thought, focusing on his breathing for several moments until he felt like he was on stable ground again. “Where were we?”

  
“Honestly this is somewhat straightforward. I don’t know why they haven’t figured it out.” Bruce said after a moment, once he saw Loki come out of meditation breathing. “The people who work for Shield aren’t that dense, they wouldn’t have ignored the date variable.”

  
“Think we can predict the next location?” Tony asked, getting bored of his hunt. About the most interesting thing he’d found so far was a large file of retro video games that was shared with the whole crew. That explained Galaga on the command deck.  
“Only in the most general of terms. They’re not THAT into the pattern. We could get within a state but that’s a lot of distance to cover.” Bruce replied.

  
“Well, we need to get a bit more exact then that.” He gave up on digging, backing out of the Shield network and deleting his trail behind him easily, then moving over and hopping up to sit on a table, dragging them with. Loki tossed the information to a closer screen easily and sat on the table on one of his sides, Bruce hopped up and sat on the other. “So, stupid question. Are we sure it’s the chitauri?”

  
“Well, if this is accurate…” Loki minimized that data and brought up more. A little bit of the tension had slipped from his body, and more followed now that he had Tony’s warmth at his side, one of Tony’s hands landing on one of his legs to rest there, equal measures of casual possessive and reassuring. “Those energy spikes are familiar. I’d say yes, ninety-five percent certain. That said, I don’t know how they’re doing this. They must have found another way to open a door to here.”

  
“They can’t be riding the network that Asgard uses, right?” Bruce said.

  
“Odin would probably consider that an act of war. Hostile takeover of a travel path.” Loki replied. “So I doubt it… but anything is possible. There are paths that Heimdall does not see, that they do not monitor. I made a game out of finding them all.”

  
“So if we can catch one of these probes open we need to run some numbers, analyze the damn thing so we can track it better and try to figure out how it works.” Tony said, then paused, looking at the open doorway. “Can we help you, Agent Hill?”

  
Loki and Bruce looked over, and saw a woman in Shield uniform leaning on the door frame, arms crossed and eyeing them. Bruce nodded at her once, Loki couldn’t remember her at all, but then he hadn’t exactly been paying attention to the crew of this place during his last… visit. Either way, her gaze was cool, analyzing. “Well, Fury did ask me to tell you to stop antagonizing our computer security people.”

  
“They aren’t computer security people, they’re clueless graduates. I walked into their network.” Tony replied. “And I’ve already stopped because I got bored. Aren’t you command deck personnel?”

  
“Yes, but I rather had to see this for myself.” She focused back on Loki.

  
“If people keep staring at me I am going to start charging money.” Loki replied tartly.

  
“You can hardly blame us.” Agent Hill kept her gaze on him, voice even, almost detached. “And after what you did, you have no right to.”

  
“I would love to chat, but I’m trying to find an army and destroy them, so if you don’t mind?” He replied, turning back to the screen, voice taking on that lofty dismissiveness of royalty, letting out a breath slowly when Tony’s hand pressed against his leg a bit more. The edges stopped crumbling, he wasn’t fraying. He was with family, he was safe, and that reassuring heartbeat of a thought strengthened when the hand moved from his leg to his back, settling between his shoulder blades, thumb rubbing little circles, grounding him.

  
“Agent Hill I suggest you find something to do.” Tony said. “Something more productive than antagonizing Loki, especially since he’s the only one here with actual working knowledge of how the Chitauri move.” She looked at him for a long moment, then disappeared from the doorway.

  
“Jarvis? Could I have my playlist?” Loki asked quietly. “Slower tempos if you could.” The music in the room changed, and he focused back on the information. “I don’t know the geography of your world. Could you display these versus geography?”

  
“Yeah, I have that.” Bruce said, reaching over and changing the display.

  
“They are working south and east, and they’re almost on a time schedule, within twelve hours really.” Tony said, staring at the information. “If I’m looking at this right, it’ll be somewhere between Missouri or Arkansas or something next time. In this weather that’ll be a miserable fight.”

  
“I’d rather bring them to us.” Loki replied.

  
Tony looked at him, then blinked. “Oh, no. No. You are not turning yourself into bait.”

  
“Why not? They’re looking for my signal, so to speak. If I bring them to us we can pick where we fight.” Loki looked back at him, watching Tony swallow and set his jaw, stubbornness in his eyes. “I’m not saying I should do this alone, far from it trust me.”  
“Well that’s good at least.”

  
“If we’re going to talk about this, we really should have everyone in on the conversation.” Bruce said.

  
“Agreed.” Tony replied. “But, honestly? We’re all off normal right now and that’s not conductive to jack shit. They can wait until we’re less stressed.”

  
“I am rather okay with this.” Loki finally said. “It would be best if we were presentable.”

  
“You’re always presentable.” Tony quirked a smile at the memory, quoting Loki back at himself.

  
Loki smirked. “Well. Usually.”

* * *

 

“Missouri or Arkansas.” Fury said, flat.

  
“That’s our best guess. It’s difficult to be certain, I mean they’re following a pattern and a schedule but they’re not exactly sticking to it either.” Tony replied. “And that’s a lot of ground to cover and the weather may not be on our side. The snow’s slamming everywhere early this year.”

  
“They show up where they show up, Stark, I like to think that a little weather won’t keep you all from performing.” He gave Tony a sour look.

  
“If I may?” Loki asked. His jacket was back on and he was sitting down, Fenrir leaning between his legs to prop on one of his shoulders, one hand resting on it. Just because it was oddly soothing, like a worry stone that he could also beat people with if need be.

  
“Go ahead, Real Power.”

  
“They’re looking for me. If I wasn’t here, I’m not sure they’d be bothering with this world so soon. Oh, eventually I am sure, but right now I am likely their central motivation.”

  
“I thought that had been concluded already?” Fury gave him a look.

  
“If I am their central motivation, then that can be used against them.” Loki replied calmly. “I can, most likely, draw them to a fight location of your choice. That way we have the advantage, perhaps set a trap.”

  
“You think they’d run into a trap?” Steve looked at Loki.

  
“I believe what He said to me was something like, ‘there is no realm, no moon, no crevice where he can’t find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain.’” Loki said. “Something like that. Point is, they’re rather put out with me.”

  
“Master of fucking understatements, right here.” Clint said, staring at him.

  
“Brother, you should have told us this.” Thor remarked.

  
“Pft, Odin already had me in the safest places as it was, even if they were prisons.” Loki rolled his eyes. “And none of this is the point. They’re looking for a… signature of mine, a signal if you will. They say a good hunter waits and a poor one chases so let us wait. Let us set a trap and the next time they poke their noses into this world I will issue an invitation I highly doubt they will ignore. That way the fight is purely on our terms.”

  
“How big of a force will they bring?” Steve wanted to know.

  
“I do not know.” He shook his head. “I do not have that information.”

  
“I’m for the idea of bringing them to us.” Natasha said. “Let’s keep it out of major metropolitan areas this time.”

  
“And if we pick the spot we can get some backup too.” Fury looked thoughtful.

  
“From who? The military?” Tony wanted to know. “Won’t that require consulting the Asshats?”

  
Bruce blinked. “I’m impressed that you managed to capitalize that while speaking.”

  
“Thanks, it’s a talent.”

  
“What’s everyone’s opinion of Florida?” Fury suddenly asked.

  
“Uh, flat, wet, lots of places to dispose of bodies, mostly.” Clint replied, without a lot of humor. “Okay beaches, not the best I’ve seen in the world.”

  
“I’ve only really spent time in Miami and that was for some conventions.” Tony said. “And frankly it somehow overlapped Spring Break. I can’t really tell you anything about Miami. Old modus operandi was still operational at the time.”

  
“Clint’s got the side of Florida in mind that I do.” Fury said. “We’ve got some friendlies down around the southern coast of Florida. Navy and Marines that have had positive contact with Shield. If we set up within gun range we should be able to depend on them for back up.”

  
“Panic button?” Bruce lifted an eyebrow.

  
“Perimeter control.” Fury replied evenly. “Use the big guns to cage them in.”

  
“I think I like this idea but are we sure we can bring them to us?” Natasha wanted to know.

  
“Reasonably certain.” Loki replied. “I might need Thor’s assistance.”

  
Thor canted his head at Loki. “Dare I ask how?”

  
“You have much power, I have little. I’ll use some of your light to shine my name to them.” He shrugged a little. “If you will allow.”

  
“I will but we will have to discuss it more later.”

  
“Agreed.”

  
“Is it sad that they’re just as dense when they talk like that as when Tony and Bruce start talking science?” Clint asked Natasha. Natasha smiled a touch.

  
“I want to know more about these friends of yours before I start really discussing strategy.” Steve said to Fury. “Shield so far seems like they keep things in house, no offense Director, so you’ve piqued my curiosity a bit.”

  
“Yeah, how much do we want the Navy and Marines to know?” Tony asked.

  
“I have the upmost confidence in Shield’s Agents, but this is a numbers game. If we’re going to throw a lot of people at the problem, Marines might be the best bet.” Fury replied.

  
“I might agree.” Steve half nodded.

  
“The Other Guy hasn’t had great experiences with the military.” Bruce remarked, pushing his glasses up.

  
“You had any issues with the Other Guy recently, Dr. Banner?” Fury wanted to know.

  
“No, but I haven’t been in combat recently either.” Bruce replied calmly. “I guess what I’m saying is, if I get invited to the party, make sure the path’s clear for me.”

  
“What kind of time constraint are we dealing with?” Steve looked at Loki.

  
“Well, if they continue the way that they have… I would say between twenty four and thirty six hours.” Loki replied. “How fast does Shield know something is happening?”

  
“Well, we’re looking for it actively now so, pretty goddamn quick.” Fury said.

  
“These… events don’t seem to last very long. I’ll need to be told when it starts and I’ll need time to respond.” He sat back, then gave up and shifted to sprawl sideways in the chair, hooking one leg up over an arm of it and hanging his head over the other, staring at the ceiling, arm propped across the back. Tony wasn’t entirely surprised, in his experience the more awkward looking the position the more likely Loki was to be relaxed in it.

  
“How old are you again?”

  
Loki offered Fury a single digit salute to that comment, eyes still on the ceiling. “You be comfortable your way, I’ll be comfortable mine. If I get everything set up beforehand, and we’re where we need to be, I can issue the Chitauri an invitation in under a minute I suppose.”

  
“Just so you know, I’m blaming you for his attitude.” Fury looked at Tony.

  
“No, he pretty much was like this when he got here.” Tony replied. “But, blame away. Can you get this barge down to Florida in under twenty four hours?”

  
“I’ll get us underway and call our assistance. In the meantime I need you all to actually discuss something that looks like strategy, and keep in mind that one of you has something to prove.” Fury shook his head and left the room.

  
“We’ll need decent maps!” Steve remarked after him.

  
“You’ll get them.” Fury said over his shoulder.

  
“Brother, could you not irritate that man?” Thor asked, looking at Loki.

  
“My existence irritates him.” Loki replied, light as air. “And I refuse to cease existing at this moment.”

  
“You’re a brat.” Natasha shook her head and stood up. “Well, we’re going to be on board at least overnight. We’re going to have to see about quarters.”

  
“You and Clint are the most familiar with this ship, I think.” Steve said. “Are you willing to work that out for us?”

  
“Yeah, of course.” Clint said, also standing. “I know who to talk to, I doubt we’re getting private quarters out of it though.”

  
“I’m sure we’ve all slept in worse conditions.” Tony said. “Thanks, guys.”

  
“Not a problem.” Clint held the door for Natasha and they were gone down the hallway.

  
“So, how are we going to discuss strategy when we don’t know exactly what we’re up against?” Bruce asked. “I know it’s the Chitauri again but it’s a question of numbers, right? It always is.”

  
“Assume the worst case scenario, and scale back accordingly.” Tony replied, then looked at Loki. “Do you really have no idea for an estimation of force?”

  
“Well, frankly, you’d know that better than I would, Stark. You saw them last, not me.” Loki laced his arms behind his head, staring off.

  
Well, that brought him up short. “Oh, well. Good point. Couldn’t tell you anything from that though, if for no other reason than that was some time ago and they could have easily rebuilt since then.”

  
“Worst case scenario it is, then.” Steve said, looking at a nearby screen as maps came up. “And given that the suggested region is swamp and estuary, this will not be a replay of New York.”

  
Tony put his head in his hands. “Oh hell. We’re going to get angry letters for fighting on top of endangered ducks or something, aren’t we?”

  
Bruce’s laughter rang in the room, his first real smile since he came on board lighting up his face even as announcements were made on the overhead, and the helicarrier lifted out of the water.

* * *

 

The stay on the helicarrier was awkward, sort of. The Avengers didn’t spend a whole lot of time on the craft and the first time they’d gathered there, they’d knocked the shit out of it, some more than others. That said, the Shield agents on board were well aware that the Avengers generally meant well, even if they occasionally had the organizational skills of a herd of cats.

  
And THAT said, no one went near them when they were in the galley of the ship, gathering back together to eat together. Loki had reluctantly left the coat and staff in the lab, but the glasses ended up hooked on the collar of the Stark Industries shirt. And sure, the group of seven was crowded around a table surrounded by empty tables, and the other people eating were watching them like they were doing theater in the park, but a good mood prevailed. Who really knew what tomorrow would bring, but there was laughter at the Avengers’ table.

  
Sleeping arrangements were more awkward. Clint and Natasha disappeared to god knows, leaving three rooms with bunk beds they’d told the others were available. This led the other five to staring at each other scratching their heads. Somehow, Steve and Thor got their own rooms (Steve slept on the bottom bunk in his room, Thor slept on the top bunk), and Tony, Loki, and Bruce ended up in a room together for reasons none of them could quite put to words. Bruce slept on the top, Tony and Loki tucked together on the bottom, still half dressed.

  
Then, suddenly, it was mid-morning the next day and the helicarrier was coming in for a water landing off the coast of Florida, turning off the stealth technology as it did. Steve went up to the deck, curious, and Tony followed, Loki still sticking to him. They ended up standing at the edge of the deck, looking off and seeing a trio of Navy warships waiting for them, and the coast of Florida in view. And, it being Florida in the fall, it was raining.

  
“At least it’s not cold.” Loki finally said philosophically. Not that fighting in the cold would have bothered him at all, but he was aware that it could be hard on Midgardians.

  
Tony peered at the cruisers in the distance, shading his eyes from the sunlight that peeked through the clouds. “I think I designed those guns.” Seeing Steve’s look, he lowered his hand and shrugged. “I’ve designed a lot of guns, and I haven’t worked DOD in a few years. I’m not sure what’s still in play anymore but I guess they wouldn’t change them out to something worse.”

  
“The shit you say sometimes, Tony. Let’s get back below before we catch colds.” Steve snorted.

  
“I don’t know what they taught you in the 40s but getting wet from the rain doesn’t magically give you germs, Cap.” Tony replied, but followed anyway. “So now, we’re playing a waiting game.”

  
“Seems that way, but better that than chasing an unknown, I think.” Steve replied. “Loki? How exactly does this signal you want to use work?”

  
“It’s simple, honestly.” And it was, it’d taken only a few half asleep moments in his mental drawing desk to put it together. He didn’t really think about spells anymore, he just did them, but he was starting to figure out how to add new ones and alter the ones that were coming back to him. It was a very strange mechanism, it was really more like he was taming his power than anything else. “I could do it on my own but Thor’s assistance will amplify it.” He paused. “Realize how difficult it is to ask my brother for assistance with magic.”

  
“Yeah, I think I get you.” Tony replied. Probably like asking a frat boy for help with physics, when you were a physics major. Awkward.

  
They ended back in the meeting room, Fury was already there and lifted an eyebrow when he heard the rattle of the pill bottle, Loki glancing at a clock and automatically digging the orange bottle out, downing one of the pills dry. “Good morning, Avengers.”  
“Morning, Director, anything we should know about?” Steve replied.

  
“Not yet. We’ll be falling in with the Navy ships and moving down the coastline a bit. There’s a lot of land owned by the government that we’re going to take advantage of.”

  
“Endangered ducks.” Tony rubbed his eyes.

  
“Cranes or something.” Fury replied, straight faced, then smirked at Tony’s expression. “Luckily, they are not in nesting season. And more importantly since it’s a reserve, there’s no people anywhere near it for miles and miles. No media, no civilians. A few game wardens but they were happy to take unscheduled vacations elsewhere.”

  
“Sounds like as good a place as any, then.” Loki said. “It would be best to keep this away from prying eyes.”

  
“Agreed.”

  
“So, I’m having a moment of paranoia right now, and I need you to promise something to me, Fury.” Tony suddenly said. “I need you to promise you won’t let those Navy ships walk their guns.”

  
That brought Fury up short, staring at Tony, who stared back silently, eyebrows drawing together slightly. Steve and Loki looked between them. “Good lord, Stark, you don’t trust me at all do you.”

  
“You don’t command the Navy.” Tony replied. “And, well, after last time, you know. Nearly died. Not feeling like repeats really.”

  
“Someone want to explain to me what you’re talking about?” Loki wanted to know.

  
“Jesus, Tony, do you really think…” Steve started.

  
“They tried to nuke us, Steve.” Tony didn’t look at him. “I trust you. Anyone else in command, well.”

  
Fury let out a breath and could feel the camera in the room focusing in on them, the silent player in the game watching this, and Fury wondered just how much the other man was still getting right in his predictions. “Look, Stark. I don’t have command over the Navy but when I put in this request I was very clear that any orders issued in regards to combat that the Avengers are in has to come from me. We don’t need any of you wounded let alone dead, do you really think Shield would let you get shelled into the ground?”

  
“Should I answer that honestly?” Tony replied. “Yeah, I think I should. I don’t think you would. I think some asshole over you would consider us expendable.”

  
“Then it’s a good thing said assholes aren’t in command right now, isn’t it?” Fury folded his arms.

  
He looked at Fury for a long moment. “Okay.” That said, he left the room, taking Loki with him.

  
“What was that about?” Loki wanted to know, staying close to him. “Walk the guns?”

  
“The guns they’re talking about using to assist us are ordinance, okay, basically modern day cannons but a hell of a lot more deadly, I should know I designed them.” Tony replied. “Walking the guns is when you’re firing on either sides of a target then progress the shots toward each other until they cross over and end up on opposite sides. In theory it flattens the entire battlefield. Kills everything. And I don’t have a whole lot of trust in the Asshats over Fury. Fury’s okay, most of the time.”

  
“This does not fill me with confidence.” Loki’s voice was a murmur. “It’s hard enough, trusting your former enemies, but to know that those close to you do not trust them either? And yet we must go into battle next to them? This is hardly ideal.”

  
“Yeah, agreed, I mean we’ve been really lucky since what happened in New York. All of the Assembles we’ve done since then have been crew only, no outside players.” Tony said, ducking into the lab. Bruce was already there, looking up curiously when they appeared. “That whole mess hasn’t really been discussed, and we still don’t have a handler.”

  
“A handler. What are you all, trained animals for a circus?” Loki replied.

  
“I’ve been called worse.” Bruce smiled, just a touch. “What he means is, a direct liaison of Shield working with us, instead of Fury. Fury has a lot under his belt and we’re mostly a new level of stress for him. We keep waiting for them to assign a new one, but…” He shrugged, not wanting to point out the obvious.

  
“Tony?” Steve’s voice asked, and he appeared in the door to the lab. “Mind if I come in?”

  
“Sure, Cap.” Tony replied. He was sitting on the table where he had been the day before, watching Bruce work on one of the screens. Loki sat next to Tony. He was wearing a Trickery shirt, if Fury had noticed it, he hadn’t overly reacted to it.

  
“Does this ship inspire your paranoia?” Steve wanted to know, coming in.

  
“Well, so far I’ve been right on the money, so.” Tony shrugged. “He’s not telling us everything. He never does. I couldn’t find anything in the computer, though.”

  
He folded his arms and sighed, fingers rattling on his upper arms. “Maybe I should just be happy you actually trust me.”

  
“I have for ages, or haven’t you noticed.” Tony snorted.

  
“Did I miss something?” Bruce asked.

  
“Nothing important. In your opinion, aiming ship artillery at one of those portals, viable strategy?” Tony looked at him.

  
“Instead of a perimeter?” Steve blinked.

  
“Yeah, I mean, switch our places. We’ll be the perimeter, and we’ll let them do all the damage where they’re showing up. Makes more sense right? Might bottleneck them or even shut it down. Getting several ships of artillery to the face is one hell of a fuck off notice.” Tony made some vague hand gestures to go along with this. “I’m assuming they’ll use some kind of portal or gate again like last time, since that seems to be what they’re using to do their search anyway.”

  
“Actually that makes a lot of sense.” Loki said. “And if anything does get through, there’s a chance of it being injured. Easy pickings. Of course if anything gets past us, it’ll go after the ships.”

  
“Which means we’ll just have to make sure nothing does.” Steve said. “I like this idea better, Tony. Good idea.”

  
“Where is everyone else anyway?” Bruce wanted to know. “I haven’t seen them since yesterday.”

  
“Clint and Natasha faded into the woodwork. Thor’s being social with the crew, I think.”

  
“Hanging out in the galley eating anything anyone will give him?”

  
Loki snickered. “Yes, that does sound like my brother.”

  
“Okay, now that you’ve all calmed down, Assemble up, we need to talk seriously about this now.” Fury’s voice said on the room’s intercom.

  
“Eavesdropping on us, Fury?” Tony asked, folding his arms and tilting his head back, not surprised at all. The cameras in the rooms were not subtle. They were always being watched, with the possible exception of the rooms they’d slept in the night before, and the locker room.

  
“Are you surprised? Get in here.” Fury replied.

  
“Well, let’s do what the man says.” Steve shook his head, but smiled when everyone else fell in behind him, Loki swirling his jacket on and putting Fenrir to his back as he walked.

* * *

 

“We should have dealt with this weeks ago.”

  
Loki winced at Natasha’s tone. She was in her section of one of the STARK crates, looking through what she had. At a glance, it was wall to wall Craftsman tool cabinets, but that was only because Tony seemed to have an endless supply of the damn things and they were conveniently sized. They were packed with weapons, knives, guns, anything Natasha could have possibly needed. And they were, she admitted, nicely innocuous. Tony had changed the locks out to one that opened for her thumbprint. “I am sorry. It just…”

  
“Didn’t come up, I know, and we haven’t exactly spent time bonding.” She walked back over and looked at his gear again, pulling the coat open and looking at how the armor was set for knives.

  
The discussion had taken the better part of two hours and in the end, everyone agreed though Tony was not pleased about it. They wanted to be able to respond quickly when the Chitauri came calling, and they wanted to put the signal up from the land, not one of the ships. This necessitated Loki being on land, and if he was, well, might as well be most of the Avengers. So they were gearing up to head into the Florida marsh and estuary, where supposedly there was a park ranger station they could hang out at until things got messy. But, given Tony’s gear up, he was getting stuck on the ship until the call went out. Even Bruce was going with because he didn’t want to trigger the Hulk again while on the helicarrier.

  
It was during gear up that Natasha saw all the empty holster spaces on Loki’s armor, and had asked. So, here they were. Loki being manhandled by Natasha as she tried to figure out what knives to loan him. He was actually mildly terrified of her at this point, mostly because if anyone had reason to put a knife into him, it was Natasha or Clint. He always felt like he was on the most tenuous of ground with them, and with good reason.

  
Natasha blinked, seeing his drawn together brows and paled green eyes behind the glasses, and sighed. “You’re scared of me. My god.”

  
“I’m not anyone’s god anymore.” He mustered a smile.

  
“Pretty sure you’re the closest thing Tony’s got.” She stepped back. “Let me guess, small blades, close quarters combat, maybe some for throwing?” He nodded and she stepped back into her gear out. She’d already changed into the new armor Tony had made for her, the rest of her gear on over it. “Can you use a gun?”

  
“I never have, I’ve seen plenty operated.” He’d also mind controlled people who knew how to use them, so he got the concept of the brutal, graceless things.

  
“Okay, these first.” She carried over a stack of knives in sheathes and he went through them, looking at edges with an experienced eye.

  
“You have good taste. These are well kept.” He finally said, accepting them and finding a way to load them comfortably into his armor. Tony’s design was damn near spot on, but that didn’t really surprise him. “I’d just as soon not carry a gun…”

  
“And I’d just as soon you did. Call it a last line of defense.” She was already holding one in a holster, taking it out. “Colt 1911. Definitive, proven, the favorite of many.”

  
Natasha was showing him basic operation with the gun empty when Clint walked up, crossing his arms and watching this with an eyebrow quirked. “Why the sudden lesson?”

  
She wove a hand at Loki, looking at Clint. “The attempted conqueror of our planet doesn’t know how to use a gun.”

  
Clint maintained a straight face briefly then burst into laughter, leaning on the open door of the STARK crate for support. “Seriously?”

  
She sighed and handed it to Loki, the magazine out. “Your turn.”

  
He pocketed the magazine, holstered the gun then reached back, getting the holster laced in with his gear then pulling it, feet moving as his hands did, grabbing the magazine he’d pocketed and slamming it home then his hands moving into the grip she’d shown him, fingers off the trigger and looking down the sights, smirking when his glasses picked up the gun sights and adapted before glancing at her, finger on the safety but not turning it off, yet. “Like that yes?”

  
She blinked. “Uh. Yeah.”

  
“Great, he’s John Wayne. Looks good but can he hit shit?” Clint said.

  
Loki shrugged and holstered it in a smooth reverse motion. “Thank you Natasha.”

  
She shrugged, tossing him a bag of clips. “We ready?”

  
“As we can be. Let’s move.”

* * *

 

“I am not happy about this.” Tony said, standing on the deck, also wearing under armor, which he’d tailored to look like any other clothes he wore so it looked slightly less ridiculous then it should have with his chucks. “You guys are leaving me alone with Fury.”

  
“Needs must.” Steve replied, also in armor and looking sour about it, because the Captain America gear would blend so well with Florida marshland. “We’ll keep in touch. You’ll be, what, less than two minutes out?”

  
“Looks that way.” He agreed with a sigh. “Be careful out there.”

  
“We will be, Man of Iron.” Thor slapped his back as he walked by, popping something, Tony couldn’t be certain what. Then they were all on the helicopter, and he was watching them leave. Loki’s goodbye had been a gentle brush of gloved fingers across the top edges of his shoulders and a smile, nothing lasting or overly intimate. Because it wasn’t a goodbye. Because he’d see Loki soon, and they’d fight side by side. And they’d prove to Shield that the fallen Asgardian was a far better ally than imprisoned enemy.

  
Tony watched the helicopter go, then shook his head a bit, going back below deck and feeling the cameras on him the entire time. That was nothing new, hell it was almost reassuring. Jarvis was always watching him, after all, Jarvis was always with him.

  
This wasn’t Jarvis.

  
He stopped in the middle of the hallway, pausing and turning to look at the camera before walking up to it, crossing his arms and peering at the lens. “So, who are you?” He murmured it, not sure the cameras had sound but he asked it out loud anyway. It wasn’t Fury. Fury actually had things to do besides babysit cameras. Either way the camera just refocused on him, staring with its single glassy black eye. So he stepped back and headed back for the labs, cracking his knuckles as he walked. Time to dig through the Shield computers again, it seemed. He needed something to do anyway.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fights are my personal weak point in writing. Sorry if this was at all anticlimactic.

Loki sat on the porch railing and stared out over a flat marshland. The rain still came down, thunder rolling over the sky. The building they were waiting in was a flat square affair, an office of some kind with some bunks hiding in the back, simple wood construction. The windows were all open so the sounds of the storm permeated, even inside. It still made him twitch.

  
Thor was sitting in some kind of rocking chair, hands laced together and head tilted back, moving a foot to rock the chair back and forth. He was smiling. Loki understood it, sort of. It had to be like his reaction to a cold wind, to the chill on the balconies in New York, that odd sense of a call of home. For Thor, that same feeling had to be caused by storms.

  
“I like it here.” Thor said after a long, mostly comfortable silence.

  
“I can tell.” Loki smiled a bit, staring out still. “Rather flat country though isn’t it?” And it was. He could barely see any rise and fall to the land. And everywhere, water and mud. Tony’s suit wasn’t going to be able to land anywhere without sinking to the knees or worse. There simply was no stable land, here.

  
“Tell me about it.” Clint appeared in the door, leaning his arms on the door frames. “I could do without the humidity.”

  
“It does make one’s armor cling, doesn’t it?” Loki managed to swallow the laugh. Really, it was a lot lighter and more flexible than leather, so he had few real complaints.

  
“Well, that didn’t take long. Apparently Tony’s already tearing into the SHEILD computer networks.” Natasha said, one hand lifting to the earpiece she was wearing. Fury wasn’t immediately at the mic, but the distant yelling more than carried.

  
“Again?” Bruce wanted to know, slipping past Clint and taking the other chair on the porch.

  
Loki tilted his head back and let his eyes shut, hands lightly gripping the rail he sat on, sliding lightly into that meditative place in his head, just breathing, preparing for battle. Behind him the others were talking strategy, in loose terms, and he half listened.  
Waiting was always the worst part.

* * *

 

“What, the first time wasn’t enough?” Fury wanted to know, standing in the doorway to the lab and scowling at Tony, who had all the screens in the lab going at once. “We’re going to have to send our computer techs to therapy because of you.”

  
“How about you send them to some basic training instead?” Tony replied, eyes on what he was doing.

  
“Stark. What are you looking for?”

  
He looked up, quirking his mouth, then stared at the camera that was on him. “I’m not sure. Might be a ‘who’.” He looked back to Fury and lifted his eyebrows at the other man’s expression. “Oh, so it is a who. That makes this soooo much more interesting.”

  
“What, are you going to harass security now?” Fury snorted.

  
“Bullshit, this isn’t security.” And the camera pointed at him moved off him, doing a sweep of the room, so he pointed and laughed. “You fucked up, sunshine, and I’m going to find you.” Anything Fury would have said was cut off by an alarm ringing ship wide, and Tony paused. “That what I think it is?”

  
“Go suit up, Stark.” And Fury was gone from the doorway.

  
Less than a minute later, Tony had done the hand scan to get into his STARK crate, watching it open up and stepping into the center, holding his arms up. “Jarvis? Suit me up.”

* * *

 

“It’s opening up over Missouri.” Said Natasha, watching Loki hop off the railing and step into the storm, taking Fenrir off his back. “From what they’re saying, these things don’t last very long.”

  
“Are you saying I should act quickly?” Loki replied, popping his neck and turning off the glamour. “A moment of your time, Thor?”

  
Thor stood and stepped out into the storm, tossing Mjolnir up and down in one hand. In armor and with his weapon, his presence in the storm had its own static charge. “Of course. You still haven’t told me how this is going to…”

  
Loki reached out and pressed a hand to Thor’s chest, other hand holding Fenrir to point at the sky. He barely had to focus to feel the wellspring, the ocean of power that was his brother, and he used it. The spell blasted out, the aurora warped the sky, laced with lightning, all him. “Come at me!” He roared at the sky, then the aurora was gone and he dropped his hand from Thor’s chest, shaking off.

  
“…work.” Thor finished. “That felt peculiar.”

  
He couldn’t help it. He started laughing. “Yes, I imagine it did.”

  
“Do you think they heard you?” Steve asked.

  
As if cued, the sky cracked, and screams echoed from above.

  
“I’d say they did. Give me just a moment, will you?” Loki blew a strand of hair out of his eyes and walked out away from the building, eyes on the sky.

  
“Real pretty light show I just saw.” Tony said, coming in for a landing in front of the porch, looking at Steve. “What’s he doing?”

  
“Don’t know yet.” Clint said, bow at hand, staring upward at the sky. “Shiiiiit.”

  
Everyone else slowly looked up, and the sky slowly ripped open, the storm continuing around it unabated, the blackness of space hovering beyond it. Loki was right below it and was screaming in Norse at the sky, and more ungodly sounds echoed from the portal, things beyond it moving and gathering.

  
“That looks like the international sign for ‘come at me bro’ to me.” Tony said, and kicked off the ground, gaining altitude fast and getting a better look at the situation. “Fury, you with us?”

  
“We see it. On your mark.” Fury replied.

  
Loki was backing up, beckoning and still talking trash in other languages, grinning. Then he went still as chitauri started coming out of the portal, flying units lining up and staring down at him, and it was suddenly clear just how large the portal was… and just how many chitauri were staring back.

  
“So, Loki, did you think they were this pissed?” Natasha wanted to know.

  
“I had my suspicions.” Loki replied, reaching up and adjusting one of the earpieces of his glasses, glancing sideways when Thor was suddenly standing next to him.

  
“For Valhalla, brother.” Thor said simply.

  
“Let’s send them there first.” Loki hissed.

  
“Just like old times.”

  
“Both of you, out of the line of fire!” Steve barked. “Director Fury? Consider this your mark. Tell the Navy to open up the guns.”

  
The noises were distant, percussive, then artillery slammed the portal to a symphony of angry screeches and roars of defiance. And the Chitauri poured out, a wave only barely stemmed by the relentless pounding of the guns that ran right into a storm of lighting, Thor standing below the portal with no respect for the artillery flying, hammer raised high and the storm raging harder at his cue.

  
“Sir, the odds…” Jarvis started.

  
“…of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.” Tony finished. “Let’s light them up.”

  
“Tony, you’re the closest thing we have to aerial support, keep them off our back.” Steve said, already running into the storm, Natasha alongside him. “Thor, Loki, if you would KINDLY get out from under the artillery before you get yourselves killed…”

  
SNAP, Loki and Thor were next to Steve, Loki with one hand wrapped around one of Thor’s wrists. “You called?”

  
“We don’t have enough people to set up a proper perimeter, but we can make sure they don’t get far if they actually get to the ground.” Steve replied. “Thor? Help Tony out with anti-air if he needs it. Otherwise, we…”

  
“Excuse me.” Said Bruce, running by shirtless in the rain, hitting the Hulk as he passed them and leaping, meeting one of the large flying Chitauri units with a gleeful fist to the face.

  
“So, fuck strategy then, because this is nothing but a shitstorm.” Clint said, deadpan, bringing arrows up and letting them fly. “Game on, guys.”

  
“This is going to end well.” Natasha’s droll remark was the last comment on the radio that made sense.

  
From there, it was all mad call outs and chatter, the group on the ground breaking up from the circle they’d been in. Thor was nearly an area of effect attack so he needed room, and Loki was constantly in and out around him and the others. He was clearly the target of priority for the Chitauri and it took him all of thirty seconds to start working that to his advantage.

  
“I set them up you knock them down!” Loki’s voice echoed in the radio, suddenly by the Hulk, engaging, gathering enemy, dragging them in a line. “Thor, yours!” Then snap, he was gone and lightning lanced across the battlefield, followed swiftly by Mjolnir and Thor’s shouts. Twist, leap, snap, and he’d landed on one of the chariots, one of Fenrir’s halves cleaving through the driver and riding the wreck down partway. “Captain, Widow!” Then he was gone again, and the empty chariot hit the dirt, the following Chitauri units having to pull up and scatter, and in that moment Steve, Natasha, and Clint were on them.

  
Tony dove in over the Hulk, flurries of rockets leading the way and watching his weapons count deplete, swearing. The Hulk was practically having a party at this point, but it didn’t seem like there was an end to the Chitauri pouring out of the portal, and there would be an eventual end to his rockets. And, more eventually, the ordinance on board the Navy ships. “Not to be a pain in the ass but can we close that portal up? Even if we kill everything that leaves a big fuck-off hole in the sky, guys, I’m just saying…”

  
“Loki?” Steve wanted to know, deflecting shots away from himself and Clint.

  
“No idea.” Loki replied. “The door opened from that side and I know not the mechanism they used… dammit!” The world distorted and he teleported again, ending up crouching on the back of a Chitauri with Fenrir running the enemy through, flicking the staff’s power on and off to jerk it loose and his body weight driving the dead soldier into the ground. “Watch your back, Thor!”

  
“I need not worry. You are always there.” Thor’s voice had a hard edge of something like joy, and Loki went back to back with him, watching the enemy come.

  
And come they did, even as the artillery continued to strike.

* * *

 

“We need boots on the ground.” Fury said, watching the other man pace the office.

  
“Numbers games.” He sighed, looking at his screens, where the files of the Avengers were pulled up alongside each other, Loki added in.

  
“We have Marines ready to make a perimeter and start pulling enemy away from the Avengers.”

  
“Do they know what they’re up against?”

  
“Frankly, the minute they caught wind that something was trying to kill Captain America, it’s been hell keeping them out of the fight, aliens be damned.”

  
The other man smiled. “I see their point. It might be better if you don’t give the Avengers a heads-up.”

  
Fury shook his head, and left the room.

* * *

 

“Tony, I’ve got a slight problem.” Loki said, watching the hazard lights flashing on the edge of his vision. The Wardenclyffe display was a wash of colors and warning messages, and it was frankly very distracting from the battle around them which just was not ending. Also distracting was the heat at his back where the Wardenclyffe rode, nearly hot enough to burn even through the armor.

  
“And that is?” Tony wanted to know, glancing at his own HUD.

  
“I think my Wardenclyffe just melted.” It seemed like a reasonable assumption, he could smell the acrid scent of an electrical fire clinging to his armor, and the controls for it had gone completely nonresponsive. Even as he said that, the battery symbol popped up onto his glasses, showing they’d lost external power. “Yes, it would seem that’s the case.”

  
“Huh.” Tony honestly wished that he had time to consider the design implications, even as he took a hit and was sent flying by several meters before regaining control of his trajectory and returning fire. “You okay down there?”

  
Loki had already shifted half of Fenrir to his back to rest there, holding his other arm away from his body as chill whipped down that arm and a long ice blade formed. His muscles burned and sang, exhaustion starting to edge in. “As much as anyone else.” A glance around and he teleported again on the next step, snapping back into existence in front of a group of Chitauri who were too far outside anyone’s damage circle and taunting them back in, leading them into Thor’s lightning, getting out of the way just in time. “This grows tedious, brother.” He remarked, snapping in behind Thor and setting a hand on him, not feeling guilty about pulling some power again.

  
Thor didn’t even seem to notice. Mjolnir was glowing, smoldering faintly red, hissing from the humidity in the air. At Loki’s comment he only grinned over his shoulder. “I have no plans to die today. We will prevail.” Even as he said that, the hammer came up again and lightning cracked the air, and Loki was gone away from him, dragging the enemy again.

  
Tony dove, watching the last of his rockets cut loose as he rounded the Chitauri back into combat. His HUD was displaying basically nothing but bad news, static cutting in and out, damage reports scrolling, weapons showing counts of zero. “Kids, this is getting ugly. I’m out of launchable munitions, and my stabilizers are going to be toast in a few minutes.”

  
Steve went to reply, and the landscape around him lit up in yellowish fire and red spots, chewing away at the advancing line of Chitauri in front of him. He took a step back then recognized the glow of tracer rounds, lowering his shield slightly as a soldier stepped in with him, turning to face him. “Yes?”

  
A marine saluted him sharply, ignoring the general rule of not saluting on the battlefield. “Captain, 1st division, Hammer platoon. We’ve been trying to cut our way into you so we can help with containment. Any suggestions, considering you’re the ranking officer?”

  
Steve returned the salute, then considered the field. “If you’ve got contact with ground artillery and Harriers we need more on the incoming wave.”

  
“Begging your pardon, sir, but that’s not a wave that’s a tsunami.”

  
“Right, but we still need more on it. Start making phone calls. As for the boots on the ground make a solid line and keep the ammo coming. They’re easy to kill, but there’s a lot of them. Try to avoid Stark and where the lightning is coming from. You can’t hurt Banner but try not to shoot him anyway.”

  
“Can do. Anything else?”

  
“Nope. Good luck, sergeant.” With that Steve snapped a salute and waded back into the fray.

  
The Hulk hadn’t touched the ground in the better part of half an hour, leaping and spinning from enemy ship to enemy ship, enemy units falling like rain from his trail of aerial destruction, tearing units apart in his wake. The grin never left his face because Banner was awake inside, for once, had enough control to take direction, keep his friends out of his line of fire. This was what the Hulk was best at, really, no holds barred, targets all around him, even if he was aware the odds were still increasing and at some point, he was going to hit a limit in what he could handle, he just hadn’t found it yet.

  
Clint made a note to himself to thank Fury as he reached up and caught yet another quiver, switching it out for his empty one without thinking. He’d long since emptied his first one and had since lost track of how many he’d gone through, but the helicarrier kept air dropping him more with great precision. He was fighting alongside the marines, Natasha never more than a few feet away from him as he started firing shots off again.

  
“Nine! Next quiver will be number nine!” Natasha told him, using him for leverage as she dealt a death blow to a Chitauri raider with her boot heel.

  
“How do you read my mind like that?” He wanted to know, almost smiling and able to feel her grin at him.

  
The marines were cutting through the Chitauri like a sharp blade through dried grass, and the artillery never stopped, but the line was slowly being forced back as the tide of the enemy slammed them. And still the enemy came. Tony ended up fighting right above his friends, cutting off and holding back the aerial enemy, the suit’s warnings now in high gear.

  
“Captain?”

  
“Sergeant?”

  
“We’re losing men. Each of our guys is taking about thirty before getting tagged. Luck beyond stupidity we’ve only got half a dozen dead from my platoon, but there are some pretty serious injuries piling up. I hope you’ve got a trick up your sleeve because we are losing ground.”

  
Steve can’t keep the worried look off his face. “Not as much, keep up as best as you…”

  
“Agent Barton is wounded!”

  
Natasha’s voice echoed over the radio, time momentarily stopping, the battlefield chilling as all of the Avengers looked up at this comment. Tony’s voice was the first to return. “That is the sound of the shit hitting the fan, kids.”

  
The fight seemed to ramp up, somehow, the marines pressing forward, the artillery opening up even more, the news of an Avenger being wounded more than enough to provide motivation. The flow at the portal actually took pause for just a moment as the Hulk let out a scream of rage, using the pouring-out Chitauri as a step ladder, fighting his way closer to it, more bodies scattering away as Thor’s lightning danced around him.

  
“Brother, I require your trust.” Loki said, snapping in next to Thor and landing in a crouch, watching the battle around them. “Please halt your attacks then be ready to use your lightning one more time on my mark.”

  
Thor grinned at him, his armor battered, Mjolnir nearly cherry red with use. “As you will, brother.” And he stopped, and the Chitauri screamed, funneling in after them like a waterfall. And Loki stood and grabbed Thor, teleporting them straight into the air and grinning when Thor didn’t even need a cue, the lightning cutting loose in all directions, leveling everything down as they started to fall.

  
Loki teleported them again, hitting the ground with a stagger where the Avengers had started to gather up, letting Thor go and looking around. He saw Natasha first. “Barton. Where is he?”

  
“Here. Left lung, through and through.” She replied, leading him over.

  
Loki dropped to his knees next to where Clint sprawled, watched over by several marines with guns at bear, trying to cover the injured Avenger. He paid the soldiers no mind, looking into Clint’s eyes. “You have no reason to trust me, but I beg it of you.” Clint could barely nod, wheezing for breath, blood bubbling on his chest, but he still managed to cry out when Loki slid one hand under his back and put the other on the hole on his chest. Every ounce of everything he was, everything he could spare and more, was pushed into this, this wound, this healing. Everything into healing this man he’d enslaved and betrayed, a man who’d wanted him dead and rightly so, but who had still trusted him enough to let Loki fight beside him, let him try to peacefully exist. The Jotun in Loki was unleashed, and the wet ground beneath them froze solid, Loki’s breath exhaling in frigid mist, red eyes glowing as he forced the wound to knit, as he pushed the blood out of Clint’s lungs.

  
Clint screamed, coughing up blood as his lungs cleared, then gasped for his first real breath since the injury, letting out a strangled groan. “What the flying FUCK man THAT IS COLD…”

  
And Loki collapsed next to him onto the frozen ground, limp and panting with exertion, as Natasha knelt laughing next to Clint. “Better than you drowning in your own blood, Hawk.”

  
“Good point, but… fuck.” He sat up slowly, shaking off and putting a hand to the entry wound, finding nothing but healed flesh and a brand new scar from a wound that should have done him in. “Hand.” She pulled him to his feet and handed him his bow and a fresh quiver, and he leapt back into combat.

  
Loki pushed himself up to a sitting position, accepting assistance from a medic that had been arriving to see to Clint but had watched him run by instead. “Are you alright, sir?”

  
“Yes.” Loki swallowed, staring out at the battlefield. “But I fear we are lost, regardless. There are too many, and we are spent…” He trailed out and froze, eyes defocusing as power rushed him, a switch flipped in his mind heart and soul, and a voice echoed to him.

  
“I am sorry. I betrayed you, and your love.” The deep low voice was right in his ears, and Loki knew the medic didn’t hear it, because the medic was saying something he couldn’t hear anymore. Above him though he did hear Tony nearly scream about more incoming, another portal opening up, then his brother’s shout of triumph. “I thought I did what was best. I see now that you did not deserve to be cast out as you were. You have taught me that though I may be wise, I am by no means all knowing.”

  
Loki hung his head, absolutely refusing to let the tears run, and the battlefield around him changed, falling still again as a hand grabbed his armor and yanked him to his feet. He wasn’t surprised to find himself staring into the remaining eye of the Allfather himself, and behind Odin stood the Warriors Three, Sif, Heimdall, and a full contingent of Asgard’s finest.

  
“Father.” He finally said, blinking once.

  
“To battle, my son.”

  
Loki grinned slowly, full of mirth and mischief again because the odds had just swung around and this had gone from a struggle to payback. “To battle.” And to battle they went. Odin walked gently onto the field, and the Chitauri didn’t stand a chance, seeming to burst like bubbles as he waded through them. Loki fought beside him, an absolute cyclone of icy destruction.

  
Thor looked to Heimdall, who was standing placidly, staring up at the portal and not seeming to move as the endless waves of Chitauri crashed against him and broke like a wave on rocks. “Heimdall! We need to close the portal!”

  
“It needs to be shut from the other side, lest it be reopened.” Heimdall replied. “I need your great green friend to give me a boost, I think.”

  
Thor nodded, spinning Mjolnir and landing next to the Hulk, who had touched down for the time being. After all, putting a radio on the Hulk was like belling a cat, only more difficult. “We wish to send the Chitauri a message. Come with me and we shall give them the last missive they will ever read from this world.” The Hulk peered at him, then nodded and cheerfully scooped Thor up to his shoulder, taking a running leap to join Heimdall.

  
Heimdall considered the Hulk for a moment, who stared back. “Put me through the hole, sir.” That was a request the Hulk could oblige, who picked him up and threw him without any apparent effort at all, hitting the target dead center, and moments later the portal sealed over without a crack, the sky returning to normal. Then there was the buzz of electricity and the smell of ozone, and Heimdall was there again, looking satisfied. “Their portal technology is no more. They will not bother this place again.”

  
Steve nodded, having finally fought his way up to this point, having been relegated a bit when reports came in about a man on an eight-legged horse. “Thank you for that, but we still have a lot of mopping up to do.” Which was true, there were now a lot of furious panicking Chitauri still on the battlefield.

  
Odin grinned at him. “Tell your people to rest, Asgard has come to help and help we shall.”

  
He nodded. “Allfather.” He stepped away and started putting out calls for everyone to step aside and to put the stop to the artillery, but to keep an eye out for stragglers.

  
Tony landed almost immediately, the suit in dire condition, hissing and sparking as he moved, reaching up and removing his helm. The hot rod red was almost purple with Chitauri blood. The Hulk simply collapsed where he stood, fading away and Bruce returning, the medics on him almost immediately and pulling him to drier ground before declaring him simply unconscious. Clint and Natasha walked up to where everyone was gathering, leaning on each other, accepting bottles of water when medics arrived to look at them.

  
Loki had snapped in when Tony had landed, and observed this, looking around at the destruction, the bodies, the still fighting Asgardians. “I did this.” His voice was almost lost in the din, and he spun, grabbing the nearest medic. “Take me to your wounded.”

  
“Sir, we can handle it. You’ve had a hell of a fight.” The medic protested.

  
Loki’s eyes lit up bright red, ground frosting over at his feet. “I said. Take me. To your. Wounded.”

  
The medic considered for a second, blinking. “Right this way, sir.”

  
Loki lost track of time after that, as he moved through the triage areas, demanding to see those most seriously wounded. He moved from soldier to soldier, putting them back together, dragging not a few away from death’s door in the process. Some were left with cold burns or frostbite as he burned so much power to make sure they would live and be whole, but it was nothing the medics couldn’t handle, and better that than death or life in a wheelchair.

  
Eventually Odin found Loki, on his knees and absolutely exhausted, the last of the serious injuries dealt with. “Rest, my son. You have helped beyond what I thought possible of you.”

  
Loki looked up slowly, incoherent and beyond weary, barely able to focus on anything, but he had a brief moment of clarity and surged to his feet, the right hook landing solidly to Odin’s jaw. “Damn you!” It would have been a scream, but he had nothing left, and he collapsed into Odin’s arms, passing out.

  
Odin barely flinched at the blow, and caught him, holding him upright then shifting to carry him, taking him to where the other Avengers had gathered, Sleipnir following behind them.


	22. Chapter 22

Tony slouched in the chair next to the bed in the medical ward of the Helicarrier, absolutely to the bone exhausted.

  
His suit was ruined. Trashed. It’d been damn near impossible to get it off, and he’d had flashbacks to the first time Jarvis had been trying to get the suit off of him post-combat. As it was he’d had to get Steve to assist. Basically nothing was going to be able to go to salvage at this point. If he was lucky he might be able to recycle maybe eighty-five percent of the components. And that was a big ‘if’.

  
And he was beat to shit. People always thought that since he was in the suit, he was able to walk out of battles unhurt. Such was far from the case. Even with the suit, even with the under armor, he could feel deep soreness and bruising. He wasn’t injured, exactly, he was just beat down. And he wasn’t alone.

  
Loki was curled up on the bed. He’d been so exhausted that two medics had had to hold him standing so Jarvis could gear him down. His glasses were errored out, the Wardenclyffe was completely fried, his armor was soaked in blood and he’d worked himself into collapse. His glamour spell was still shut off, and an IV had been hooked to his arm, pumping him back full of electrolytes. He probably wouldn’t wake up for hours, but Tony couldn’t bring himself to leave.

  
All he could think was what it would be like if he woke up alone after all of that, and it was horrifying. So he stayed, and kept an eye on him, and scowled at the doctors that occasionally hovered.

  
He’d almost started to doze, and had seriously started considering crawling onto the bed next to Loki to pass out there instead, when a figure suddenly filled the open doorway and he came as alert as he could, staring at the figure with narrow eyes. Tony had only caught glimpses of Odin before this, seen the imposing older figure fighting alongside Thor and Loki, and seen him talking to the others. Tony had done the logical thing and avoided him, and now Odin was silently looking into the room.

  
So Tony considered, then did a come-in wave, not moving from where he was. Odin stepped in, moving to the foot of the bed looking down at Loki, who was still unmoving and asleep. Tony said nothing, because if he opened his mouth nothing but anger was going to pour out, so he sat and waited for Odin to start instead.

  
“Some of Midgard still believe us gods.” Odin finally said, voice quiet. “There are those among them that wrongly believe us infallible, believe I am infallible. But with my son Loki, I failed, miserably. To admit that failure is difficult, but to deny it would be terrible. But in my failure, I believe he found himself and his place in in the nine worlds.”

  
Tony lifted an eyebrow. “I’m an atheist. No gods, only man. And yes, you did fail, but he’s the one that needs to hear that admittance.”

  
Odin looked at him again, his gaze level and calm. “Thor trusts you, and fights next to you. He believes you are quite possibly one of the better things that has happened to his brother, my son who I love, in quite some time. I cannot fix my errors, or transgressions. All I can do is support those who try to do so themselves. Hate me if you wish, I deserve nothing less. But understand that as long as you walk with my sons you have my love and protection, and my wrath upon those who would stand against you.”

  
On the bed, Loki’s eyes silently went wide, then pressed closed again. He’d come awake when Odin had started talking, even in his exhaustion he was apparently still a light sleeper, and now, these words. He couldn’t stop the burning in his eyes, and the tears ran, but he kept his breathing even, faking sleep for as long as he could so he could listen.

  
Tony stared at Odin for a long moment, speechless and having to quell the urge to recoil away and leave the room because of some really bad, bad memories related to his own father. But he stayed where he was, taking a minute to assemble what thoughts he did have. “Look, I didn’t exactly have the highest opinion of you before today, but you probably saved all our lives. So sit down if you want, you’ve earned that much. Just don’t expect me to call you a god.” Yeah, that was a big hell-no. “Everyone fucks up, Odin. I spent most of my life doing so. If it’s anything I’ve learned, it’s how we come out of it that says the most about who we are.”

  
Odin claimed the other chair in the room, on the other side of the bed from Tony. “I sent Thor to Midgard to learn what I have shown here today. Humility. And it has made him greater. That I can admit my failures is a great accomplishment. There were times when I could not have done so.”

  
Tony almost burst out laughing, half because wow he knew how that was and half because seriously, did Odin hear what he was saying? “Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard there. Saving your kids is what you’re supposed to do if they’re in the shit. Admitting you fucked up with Loki is a great start, but the minute you start to gloat that start is undone, and you’re gloating. And take that from a man who was called the ‘Merchant of Death’ for years on end, and gloated about it. So, good on you for taking the first step. Now man up, and take the rest of the walk of shame.” When Odin looked at him and almost smiled, he snorted. “Trouble with humility is if you claim you’re humble, you aren’t. Of course, I’m the least humble person on this ship so take that how you will.”

  
“Genius playboy billionaire philanthropist superhero.” Loki said, snickering, lifting his arm to stare at the IV there.

  
“And good with kids.” Tony grinned, relieved to hear Loki’s voice. “Good morning, starshine, how do you feel?”

  
“Like I’ve been in a proper battle.” Loki tried to move, and groaned as everything protested at once. Then Tony was there, and he accepted the hand up gladly, sitting with effort and rubbing his eyes wearily. “Thank you for staying with me, but I think I need to talk to Odin.”

  
“I’ll be nearby.” Tony replied, and walked out of the room.

  
Loki watched him go, then half smiled, eyes sliding to Odin. “If you think that was talkative you should hear him when he’s actually interested in the topic at hand.”

  
“He does love the sound of his own voice, doesn’t he?” Odin was amused. “Your brother thinks highly of him though.”

  
He smirked a bit, because both of those statements were true, and closed his eyes, dragging up enough energy from somewhere to turn the glamour back on, opening his eyes again as his skin tone paled and his eyes faded to green, and surprised to see Odin’s expression.

  
“Don’t feel like you have to hide who you are from me, son.”

  
“Why not?” Loki replied, voice going absolutely cold. “You hid who I was from me.” He paused and looked away for a moment. “You saved my friends. Thank you, for that. I can’t thank you enough, actually. They are all good people, and they didn’t deserve to be ended by an enemy which sought me alone. That said…” He pressed his palms together, looking at Odin. “I have… problems. I’ve been coming to terms with them and trying to work past them. It’s possible I’ve always had them but you helped open the door and let them out. We need to talk, about everything that happened. Are you willing to do this, for me?”

  
“Of course I am. That’s why I’m here.”

* * *

 

Tony didn’t even make it two steps past the door into Loki’s room before the world washed out. He felt his eyes start to roll back as he staggered, exhaustion taking him hard as he stumbled sideways and grabbed the wall, trying to find any kind of reserve. Then a doctor was there, and he honestly had to struggle to speak. “I need to lie down. Please.”

  
Then there was a doctor and a nurse with him, supporting him and taking him to a bed, and he fell into it. He had just enough coherency to make sure to lay chest down, so the doctors couldn’t touch the arc reactor, and he was out like a light.

  
Eventually he woke up, startling hard and looking around blindly. The room was dark, but there was enough light to see someone was sitting in the chair next to the bed, and it was actually the faint smell of a lotion that let him know who it was. “Tasha?” He hazarded, not entirely coherent.

  
“Hey, Tony.” She got up and turned on the lights, then sat on the edge of the bed as he sat up. “You’ve been out five hours before you ask. How do you feel?”

  
“Better. I guess.” He shook his head vigorously. “Sore. How is everyone?”

  
“You mean how is Loki?” She smiled just a touch. “He’s up and around. Last I heard he was playing on the flight deck with Sleipnir. He asked me to sit with you.”

  
He blinked, shifting to the edge of the bed to sit next to her. “Oh. Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

  
“Mm. Well, after what Loki did for Clint it was the least I could do. No one should have to be alone when they wake up, after today.” She shook her head. “Most of the Asgardians were sent home. Just Thor’s family and friends, now.” She stood and gave him a hand up.

  
“How is Clint?”

  
“Alive. Healed. Loki saved his life, probably.” Seeing Tony blink and suddenly start frantically patting his pockets, she smirked. “I texted Pepper and said everyone was okay but that you and Loki were dead asleep from combat fatigue. She accepted that.”  
“Wow, so how many favors do I owe you now?” He wanted to know, accepting his duffel bag and following her out of the room.

  
“None.”

  
“So, backing up slightly, Loki is on the flight deck playing with Sleipnir.” Tony repeated this back because he just wanted to make sure he heard that right.

  
“Yes, Sleipnir, eight legged horse that Loki happens to be the mother of. If you hurry your ass up and shower, you might even get to see some of it before Odin leaves for Asgard.”

  
Tony had to admit, Natasha knew how to motivate him.

* * *

 

The helicarrier was in motion, cutting through the water, the Navy vessels that had assisted trailed along in formation. Morale was generally high, especially on the flight deck, where as much of the crew as could manage had turned out to sit at the edges, some with cameras because honestly, when else were you going to see something like this?

  
Because Loki was back in his Jotun skin, and Sleipnir was out of tack and bounding around like a particularly enthusiastic huge dog, hooves booming on the flight deck, dancing and leaping and running, Loki somehow keeping up, roughhousing with his son as best he could. But Sleipnir seemed to understand that Loki was more fragile now, and was respectful of it, and it was all in all just ridiculous to watch.

  
“I have to admit I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that.” Tony said, sitting next to Steve, leaning back against one of the helicopters and watching the show.

  
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Steve replied, looking at him.

  
“Better now that I got some sleep. How long has this been going on?”

  
“Better part of an hour.”

  
Sleipnir knocked Loki down, and Loki just laughed and laughed, sitting as Sleipnir flopped down. Then the stallion’s huge head was in Loki’s lap, the magical horse sprawled on his side, legs every which way, and Loki was just smiling down at him, the smile affectionate and proud. They couldn’t have been more mismatched, but the relationship somehow came through, the proud parent and the happy child.

  
“So, have I missed anything else?” Tony wanted to know, snickering when Sleipnir rolled and all eight legs were in the air.

  
“Well, we’re going to Miami.” Steve said after a few minutes. “Fury’s kicking us off there, apparently.” He half smiled at Tony. “Said you’d probably be nice enough to get us back to New York, since the Helicarrier’s deploy orders weren’t taking them back that way again.”

  
He blinked at Steve. “Yeah I can take of it but damn that seems rude.” He considers though. “Oh, Miami has great food though, we’ll be able to go out and get an actual decent meal. I don’t think STARK has a branch there but I should be able to get some planes and trucks fast for our gear. Overnight one night then home. Easy enough.”

  
Steve stared at him, then laughed and rubbed his eyes. “When I first met you I would have never seen you as a caretaker. And yet…”

  
“I take care of my friends. Now that I actually have some I don’t want to lose them.” He punched Steve’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll make some calls, talk to Jarvis. Don’t worry about it. Hell, I actually like that Fury’s putting us off in Miami. Nice and workable.”

  
“Man of Iron!” Thor’s voice thundered, and when Tony looked up he saw Thor waving from the other side of the ship, standing in a group of Asgardians he recognized from the battle. “Come meet my friends!”

  
“Well this should be interesting.” He remarked to Steve, standing up.

  
“They’re nice.” Steve laughed. “But it’s like Thor times four so keep that in mind.”

  
“Oh, lord.” That was either hilarious or terrifying, so Tony walked over to join theater in the park.

  
“My friends, this is the Man of Iron, Tony Stark.” Thor said grandly.

  
“You’re the one with the flying suit of red armor.” Said the woman of the group, lifting an eyebrow.

  
“Yeah, that’s me.” Tony meanwhile had already put up a hand to block an inquiring touch from one of the men of the group, a guy he’d already filed as ‘Dwarf from Middle Earth.’ “And I also have a light in my chest, personal space much. You guys are?”  
Introductions went around. Valstagg, Fandral, Hogun, and Sif.

  
“You guys sticking around? We’re apparently being thrown off ship at Miami and I’m thinking, call up a tailor, get everyone some actual clothes and get a decent dinner.” Tony looked at Thor and lifted an eyebrow, then looked at the other four.  
“I can always eat and the offer of a good meal is one I will happily take.” Valstagg grinned.

  
“His appetite is not to be doubted.” Thor looked at Tony.

  
“And it’s you saying that. Right. I already figured on this being expensive.” Tony snickered. “Alright then. The more the merrier. I look forward to having some long conversations with the people who have had to put with this guy all his life.” He grinned and nodded at Thor. Thor made a face, then grinned.

  
“Says the man apparently taking care of Loki.” Fandral said. “Thor has told us. He has been much less worried since you stepped in.”

  
“I guess that’s one way to put it.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugging.

  
“They’re of one mind.” Thor smiled a bit. “In a curiously not worrisome way.”

  
“I somehow find it worrisome anyway.” Hogun gave Thor a look.

  
Tony was already seeing this dynamic. These were clearly Thor’s friends, not Loki’s, and he was willing to bet they’d all been there when things had started going to hell, before the Avengers, things he’d only really read about in Thor’s file before initial Assembly. “Loki works for me actually. And yes, we enable the hell out of each other. Two arrogant narcissistic geniuses getting along? Wonders will never cease.”

  
Fandral and Hogun just stared at him. Valstagg grinned after a moment and Sif started giggling.

  
“Works for you? Thor has told us you build things…” This was Fandral again, who had an eyebrow lifted, just barely.

  
“I do. I built the suit I wore, I built this.” He rattled his fingers on his arc reactor, then turned and looked around and leveled a hand at one of the Navy ships pacing them. “I invented the guns those ships use, but I don’t do that anymore. I’m more interested in building things that help people these days. I have a personal workshop, Loki and Bruce assist me.”

  
“Makes sense, actually, he always read a lot.” Sif said, thoughtful.

  
Tony grinned at her. “Actually he mainly works with his hands. Welding, grinding, machine work. He’s our resident machinist and he’s gotten pretty fuckin’ good at it.”

  
“Talking about me behind my back?” Loki wanted to know, walking over, Jotun skin fading away to pale freckled skin (when the hell had that happened?) and poison green eyes, Sleipnir following right behind him, hanging his huge head over Loki’s shoulder.  
“Nothing bad, you know that.” Tony smiled at him. “Sorry I passed out.”

  
“Everyone was exhausted.” Loki wove a hand then nudged Sleipnir, and suddenly Tony had a horse monster damn near on top of him, snuffing at his hair and chest.

  
“Hey, stepkid, how’s it going?” He wanted to know, bold enough to scratch Sleipnir’s ears. He could hear Thor snickering. “Loki, you up for a group dinner in Miami? I invited the Riders of Rohan along.”

  
Loki burst into laughter, long and loud, the noise ringing out over the sound of the ocean. “Yes, I think we all need such a thing. Settling down after such a battle. Aftercare.”  
“A victory meal.” Thor said.

  
“Are we talking about a feast?” Volstagg lifted his eyebrows.

  
“I highly doubt you can eat me into bankruptcy.” Tony said, hands stroking along Sleipnir’s neck then slapping one of his shoulders. He knew next to nothing about horses, but his effort seemed appreciated because Sleipnir was pushing in against his touch. “So, yes. Why not?”

  
“You are going to regret that decision.” Loki said, deadpan.

  
“We shall see. I’ll make some calls. Not a big deal.”

* * *

 

Loki let himself become an observer for a while. Yes, he was still tugged into everything, because Odin… because his father… was there, because the Warriors Three and Sif were there, and the Avengers were together and victorious and alive. And because maybe, just maybe, he’d proven himself. Maybe. He honestly wasn’t sure about that yet, no one had told him.

  
But a lot of the crew of the helicarrier were suddenly warmer toward him. There wasn’t trust there, not exactly, but suddenly people were greeting him. And a few soldiers outright started conversations, a few marines actively seeking him out to thank him. People he’d healed, and he could only smile, try to wave it off. Literally the least he could do, considering he’d been the cause of all the chaos.

  
And freaking Tony, rolling with everything like this happened every damn day, calling ahead to Miami and getting them clothes and arranging for them to eat, and arranging for transport for everything. He’d started laughingly calling himself their bankroll, which got him harassed by everyone else.

  
It was all a very strange way to live, he found himself realizing. But it was a happy way, too.

  
He was on the deck again with Sleipnir, taking what time he could with his son, because they had no trouble talking to each other. They never did, even now with his magic still new and strange but getting more comfortable. They were sitting together, Loki cross legged on the hard deck and Sleipnir sprawled out next to him, Sleipnir speaking in his own way about Tony. They’d had to talk about that, about the fact that Loki had found people that loved him, and Sleipnir had needed Tony’s acceptance, and had gotten it without question. It was entirely possible that an eight legged horse was not the strangest thing in Tony’s life from his perspective. There were days when Loki honestly wasn’t sure how the shorter man’s mind worked.  
Then Odin was there, walking across the deck of the carrier, trailing Thor. It had honestly stunned Loki that Odin had stayed so long, and he looked up, blinking. “Yes?”

  
“I’ve lingered on Midgard long enough I fear.” Odin replied. “I must return to Asgard.”

  
Sleipnir scrambled up and stood ready as his tack returned to him, giving Loki one last headbutt. Loki returned it, leaning their foreheads together, wondering when he’d next get to see his son, if he’d ever get to see Fenrir again, but now at least hopeful for the future.

  
“Thank you again, father.” The word was hard to say, but he managed it, almost manages a smile to go along with it. “For saving my friends.”

  
“It is the least I could do.” Odin replied, patting Loki’s shoulder then swinging astride Sleipnir. “They make you happy. And so little has, your whole life. I am certain we will see each other again, Loki, so I am not going to bother with goodbye.” Loki just nodded, so he looked at Thor. “Perhaps if you could come along with the Warriors Three and Sif, for a time?”

  
“Of course father.” Thor replied, smiling.

  
“Heimdall!” Odin thundered at the sky, and just that fast he was gone, the symbol of the bifrost etched into the deck of the carrier.

  
“Brother.” Thor looked to him, brow wrinkled.

  
“Thank you for your concern.” Loki looked back at him. “But I find myself… surprisingly all right. Settled. Odin and I actually spoke. That wound may heal, yet.”

  
“Good.” His brother grinned, then Thor was grabbing him up into a glad hug. “Good. Shall we rejoin our friends?”

  
“Yes once you put me down.” He snickered. “Easy. I’m still mortal remember?”

  
“Father seems to think you prefer it.” Thor let him go, and they walked across the ship. The sun had long gone down, only the artificial lights of the deck guided them.

  
“Hm.” He had to consider. “It is more that I have accepted it, I suppose, now that I have some power back.” Loki paused and shouldered into him. “Your friends still think I’m mad, you know.”

  
“They do not!”

  
“They do so. Do not think that I do not feel their eyes when I remove the glamour.”

  
“You need not hide from us, brother.”

  
“I’m not hiding. This is who I am as much as my Jotun skin. I will never be one or the other, fully. I have accepted that.” They were inside the ship now, walking down the hall.

  
“Well, well, well. The brothers getting along.” Fury said, leaning on the wall watching them.

  
“Occasionally.” Loki half smiled.

  
“We are all going to dinner once we reach Miami, Fury.” Thor said, cheerful. “Which makes it tomorrow I suppose?”

  
“We’ll make port sometime tomorrow afternoon.” Fury nodded.

  
“Well, then do you care to eat with us? I am sure Tony will not mind.”

  
Fury blinked once. “I’ll get back to you.”

* * *

 

“I still want an explanation on what was so wrong with what we were wearing.” Hogun said.

  
They’d made port in Miami, to no small amusement of, well, Miami. A Navy ship making port after deploy was generally noticed but one coming out of nowhere, as rather odd as the Helicarrier was, was definitely noticed. And Tony had been very busy behind everyone’s backs because a tailor had been waiting on the dock when the footbridges had been put down, as well as a group of STARK trucks. Now one of the port’s gantry cranes was swinging the STARK Avengers containers onto the trucks, and Tony had cheerfully passed out clothing boxes.

  
“I have learned not to argue with the Man of Iron on the topic of wardrobe.” Thor replied. They were all gathering on the deck. Two limousines were already waiting for them as close as possible on the dock.

  
“I have worn more to bed.” Sif remarked, absolutely resplendent in a dress that landed just above the knee.

  
“Welcome to Miami.” Tony replied, joining them, Loki in his shadow. “Your armor wasn’t going to cut it and I’m paying for dinner, so thank you for playing along.”

  
“Where are we eating?” Clint wanted to know.

  
“The Palm. I called ahead and told them who was coming. That made them much more willing to block out half the restaurant for us.” He smiled and shrugged.

  
“Thor invited me along.” Fury said, walking across the command deck. “Stark, you alright with that?”

  
“Of course.” Tony barely batted an eye.

  
“Good. Unfortunately I have something to deal with first but I’ll meet you at the restaurant. Considering your choice in transportation I doubt I’ll be that far behind you.”

  
“Fair enough.” He managed a salute, then looked around as the group fully gathered.

  
“You enjoy this sort of thing don’t you?” Fandral grinned.

  
“No, I’m miserable when surrounded by gorgeous people in good clothes I put on them. It just ruins my fuckin’ day. Shall we?” He was already walking across one of the boardwalks, leaving the group to catch up.

  
“You’re terrible, you know that right?” Steve was laughing though.

  
“Hey, I’m just saying.”

  
“The limos have Avengers flags.” Bruce said flatly as they walked up.

  
“Well, I didn’t request that if you’re trying to point fingers.”

  
“We’re resourceful.” Replied one of the limo drivers, already waiting and holding doors open.

  
They split up between the two vehicles. Thor, the Warriors Three, and Steve ended up in one. Bruce and Loki followed Tony, Clint, Natasha, and Sif joining them.

  
“Haven’t spent a whole lot of time on Midgard have you?” Tony wanted to know, looking at Sif.

  
“No. Not at all, and the last time I was here was when Thor was thrown down.” She looked at Loki.

  
He wove a hand. “Yes, yes, they all know about it.”

  
“Look, reason I bring it up is you and your friends are the unknown factors here, okay? I know what all my friends like, you guys are going to have to let me know if you’re not having a good time. Fair?”

  
She lifted an eyebrow at Tony. “Fair.”

  
The limos had eased off the docks and into traffic. It was late afternoon and they rolled along, and Tony moved, opening the privacy screen. “This thing have a sound system?”

  
“Is that a trick question, Mr. Stark?” The driver wanted to know.

  
He grinned. “Thump it.” The explosion of music rolled out of the limo, bass hammering, and Tony had to shake his head because he actually recognized this particular electronic noise. Skrillex.

  
“What the hell are you doing?” Clint wanted to know, laughing.

  
“Being immature.” Tony replied, opening one of the sunroofs and standing up out of it, resting his arms on top of the limo and looking around as he put sunglasses on. It was a glorious day, by Florida winter standards, actually warm and not raining, the sky brilliant cloudless blue. So he snapped his fingers inside the limo. “Hey. Loki. Sif. Get up here, there’s room and you haven’t been here before.”

  
Loki appeared next to him instantly, towering over him easily and making room so Sif could fit, all three of them easily leaning through the opening, taking in the city around them. The cars nearby had taken notice, the drivers and passengers staring at them, and Loki could only grin and throw his hair out of his eyes. Yes, he was battered from battle and had shadows under his eyes from lack of rest but they were being admired and he always luxuriated in it.

  
The other sunroof popped open and Clint appeared, leaning back in the corner to face them, arms spread and quirking an eyebrow. “Yes, because this is legal.”

  
“Says the government gun.” Tony grinned at him. Natasha appeared, dragging Bruce with her.

  
“I was just fine inside the car.” Bruce remarked, straightening his glasses with effort.

  
“Oh, would you all lighten up.”

  
“You’ve adapted well to this place, you know.” Sif remarked to Loki, looking around, every bit the tourist. “You seem more comfortable than your brother.”

  
“It’s not hard.” Loki replied. “Thor’s just learning on his own schedule. He always does. I have more incentive to learn than he does.”

  
“True. Thor just passes through on a regular basis, Loki’s actually having to learn to live here.” Bruce said.

  
A forest green jeep rolling through traffic next to them honked, the passengers (two dudebros and two tanned young women who were probably sorority sisters if Tony was any judge) waving at them. Tony smiled and wove back, used to it, the others settled on staring or ignoring the jeep. “College kids.” He remarked to Loki.

  
“I rather hope we get a chance to repay your hospitality.” Sif suddenly said thoughtfully, looking at Tony then at Clint, Natasha, and Bruce. “Perhaps bring you to Asgard for a short time.”

  
“I’m sorry, are we supposed to turn down visiting another planet?” Bruce said after a moment. “Because I would leap at the chance.”

  
“Second.” Tony said, grinning.

  
“Letting these two on the Bifrost? Dangerous.” Loki said to Sif. “Frankly, letting them anywhere near Asgardian technology is dangerous unless you intend on it being unleashed on Midgard in short order.”

  
“I’m not sure whether to thank you or flip you off, Princess.” He peered up at Loki. “Much as I appreciate the compliment to my intelligence, really, I hate that you guys are purposefully keeping shit from us.”

  
“It’s not for this world yet. Midgard barely handles what it has now.”

  
“Oh don’t be a dick about it even if it’s true.”

  
“There is a somewhat famous quote about any sufficiently advanced technology is magic to those who don’t understand it.” Bruce said.

  
“It’s technology. We’ll understand it.” Tony didn’t allow for another option. “We just have to get our hands on it first instead of this insane game of keep away they’re playing.”

  
“You know what? I’m on their side. I’d rather you didn’t have technology to travel between planets at will.” Clint said. Natasha giggled, then full on laughed when both Tony and Bruce made ‘oh, come ON’ gestures.

  
“On another subject, I find the music of this world highly questionable.” Sif said as the song blasting out of the limo changed.

  
“You get used to it.” Loki replied, maintaining a straight face even as the music loudly stated that the bass made that bitch come.

  
This was when a siren whooped next to them, and they all turned to see a cop car next to the limo, the cop with his window down and looking at them, far from amused. “I don’t care who you people are, you need to get fully back into the limousine.” The cop informed them loudly over the music.

  
“Oh come on, we’re stuck in traffic!” Tony said, making a face and gesticulating at the near gridlock around them. When the cop just stared, he sighed. “Okay, guys. We’re busted, come on.”

  
“What did I say?” Clint wanted to know even as they all ducked back inside.

  
“Just… don’t start.”


	23. Chapter 23

  
The Palm staff had been skeptical, but when someone calls speaking in terms of a five figure dinner party, even asking for half the restaurant to blocked out because ‘frankly we’re going to need a lot of the kitchen going’, they tended not to argue. The hostess did a good job of being unflappable, keeping her gape down to a wide eyed stare as she escorted the group across the restaurant. They pushed tables together and got arranged, ignoring the other patrons who stared across the establishment at them. There was a ring of empty tables around them, and that was probably for the best. They were not exactly a low-key group, a fact which Steve felt the need to apologize to the rest of the patrons for, going up to tables and introducing himself as Captain America cheerfully.

  
“It amazes me that he can get away with that.” Tony remarked, accepting his single drink from the waitress, having settled on a glass of wine.

  
“Steve is blessed with being supernaturally likable.” Bruce replied, then looked up and froze.

  
Tony looked up and followed his gaze, seeing two figures coming into the restaurant, Fury walking toward them trailing an Agent, he saw the suit but Fury’s bulk was hiding who it was from his angle. “Fury! So glad you could join us. You’ll have to order drinks, who did you…”

  
Then Agent Phil Coulson was stepping out from around Fury, folding his hands together and looking at them, smiling in that way he could. “Terribly sorry about my long absence, everyone.”

  
The table went dead silent, even the visiting Asgardians catching on that something dramatic had just happened. Then Clint and Natasha were out of their chairs and had pounced on Agent Coulson like two large enthusiastic dogs instead of the assassins they were, and all three of them were laughing, English quickly dissolving into a three way conversation in Russian. Phil had been taken to the ground and he didn’t seem like he even cared, he had an arm around each of them, in their hair, holding them close as they chattered. Thor was laughing, eyes wide and wondering, Steve was stunned silent, Bruce with a hand to his face, gaping.

  
Tony was watching this with a rueful smile because, seriously, it was perfect. Suddenly everything made sense. Fury’s willingness to let Loki stay with them, the eyes on them in the helicarrier, it all made sense. Of course it had been Coulson. Of course Coulson was alive. The only real question was what the hell had taken him so long, now that it was very obvious that there had been an empty space following Clint and Natasha around for so long that had suddenly neatly been filled, a piece of the puzzle slamming in with total confidence. Tony glanced sideways then paused, because Loki had gone still and silent, pale and trembling slightly, looking back at Tony with eyes split between red and green.

  
“Hey, it’s okay.” Tony murmured.

  
“I killed that man.” Loki replied, voice equally quiet.

  
“I think you’ll find you didn’t.” Phil was standing again, straightening his suit, the fifteen or twenty seconds of total joyful abandon over. Then there was a burst of activity as everyone moved to accommodate two more chairs in the seating arrangement, Coulson getting wedged between Clint and Natasha without protest.

  
“You were the one watching us in the helicarrier.” Tony said, pointing his wine glass at Phil.

  
“Of course I was.” Phil smiled at him.

  
“And you made the call about Loki.” He continued, Loki startling next to him, looking at him then at Phil.

  
“Every raid party needs a spell caster.” The Agent was totally at ease, looking up at the waitress when she reappeared and ordering himself tequila.

  
He barely blinked because oddly enough, that did seem like Coulson logic.

  
“Son of Coul, how did you survive? Fury told us…” Thor said.

  
“I lied.” Fury said, going for vodka when the waitress got to him. “I do that from time to time.”

  
“Not cool.” Steve said, so utterly flat that a few others at the table snickered. “Director…”

  
“We all did what was necessary.” Phil said, interrupting. “Can we agree on that?”

  
“Did you MEAN for that to happen?” Bruce said, staring at him.

  
“No, but it worked out. Thank you for sticking around, Dr. Banner.”

  
“Oh, I uh. I got a good deal.”

  
“I’m aware. As for how I survived, that’s a story I would really rather not get into right now. This is a victory celebration, let’s not linger on past pains.” He looked right at Loki while he said that, lifting an eyebrow. Loki could only nod slowly once. “Besides, you have other guests that I need to be introduced to.”

  
Thor jumped in at this not-subtle hint, happily introducing Coulson to the other visiting Asgardians, and the conversation moved on, neatly folding the new arrivals into the chatter. Fury never seemed like one for small talk, mostly listening and observing, and Coulson made every word he said count, which didn’t entirely surprise Tony.

  
“Hey. You coming back to New York with us?” He finally asked, waving a glass of soda to get attention. Food had already arrived on the tables once and it had been proven once again that Asgardians had truly terrifying appetites. Which was why he’d bought out half the restaurant, of course.

  
“I beg your pardon?” Phil wanted to know, blinking at Tony.

  
“New York. Avengers Tower. Empty apartments I still have which I’m sure you’re quite aware of. Come on, don’t pretend to be behind in this exchange because I know for a fact you’re half a dozen steps ahead of us.”

  
That made Phil just barely smirk. “What makes you think I even want to be in New York?”

  
“Uh, hello, because THEY are in New York.” Tony pointed at Clint and Natasha and totally ignored the glares of death he got from them for pointing out the obvious. “And because I already know where this is going.”  
“Do you now.”

  
Fury was watching this exchange and half smiling.

  
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I do. Fury’s tired of our shit. He’s got enough to deal with. You, on the other hand, are long used to us.”

  
Bruce blinked once, then laughed low. “Oh. Yeah, that is pretty much perfect. What took you so long, Coulson?”

  
“I died. Took a while to get back.”

  
“Well that’s some curious wording.” Loki said, blinking.

  
“I shall leave you to wonder.” Phil replied, smiling, elbows propped on the table and hands laced together. He was on his third round of tequila and was by all appearances stone sober.

  
Tony took a picture of him with his phone, sending it to Pepper with a simple ‘look who’s back!’ caption.

  
“Do you MIND, Stark?”

  
“Nope. Welcome back to the family, Phil, I’m sure we’ll drive you completely mad within the year.”

  
“You could be gracious about it, you know.” Steve remarked to him.

  
“Please. He’s known me longer than the rest of you. If I was nice to him he’d think I was up to something.” When that made Phil smile again, Tony gestured at him and looked at Steve. “See?”

  
“You’re impossible.”

  
“Yep. Now what should we do after we eat the restaurant into near bankruptcy? Because my wallet and I are both open to suggestions.”

 

* * *

 

They spent the evening confusing the hell out of the Miami nightlife. It was in the wee hours of the morning when the visiting Asgardians left, taking Thor with them once he’d said some proper goodbyes to everyone. Loki actually returned the hug this time, after they’d stepped aside and talked for a few moments. Later, Loki would look back and realize that it hadn’t even entirely mattered what had been said, it was just that they could talk, sincerely, and that he could look at Thor and see his brother, not a threat.

  
They all stayed in a hotel that night, and Loki ended up sitting up until sunrise on the balcony, staring out over the ocean and letting his mind roll over the past, what he’d done and just how Thor had gone about fighting him during his power-driven insane scheme. Thor had never really fought him, just tried to contain him, tried to reason with him, even when Loki had been stabbing him.

  
Guilt and shame never came easily to Loki, and he’d been made aware that it was part of the issues he had. Cluster B, inability to feel guilt or learn from punishment, among many other … colorful issues.

  
But sitting on the balcony, bone tired and sore and watching the sun come up, he felt pretty fucking guilty.

  
Strangely more so when the balcony door eased open and Tony was leaning there, rubbing his eyes and asking if Loki had any intent to get any sleep before they had to go back to New York. And his boyfriend (and that was still so strange, so strange and so amazing to think let alone attempt to say) had looked so tired and spent that he’d let himself get pulled up and back into the hotel room, passing out nearly the moment he hit the bed.

* * *

 

A STARK plane was waiting for the group when they finally straggled into Miami’s airport, and this time Agent Couslon was leading them, no coordinated shirts or Tony getting out his ID. No, Coulson just walked ahead of them, making a come-on gesture, and they hadn’t even bothered getting fully unarmed. Loki was wearing his jacket with Fenrir riding on his back, Natasha still had a gun in a holster, Steve had his shield. No one was in uniform, it was just no one cared anymore. They still hadn’t caught up on rest, still sore from the battle.

  
The airport watched them go by, and when the TSA showed up, Coulson just smiled and held up a badge. Which was when everyone found out that SHIELD trumped TSA, because just that fast they skipped security, carrying what little luggage they had, cutting through the terminals and getting onto the airplane in record time, no one surprised when the little private jet got to cut in line for takeoff.

  
The flight back was happy but quiet, considering. Bruce went back to sleep, stretched out on one of the couches. Steve and Phil got into a long conversation, quiet enough everyone else left them alone. Loki took the time to talk to Clint and Natasha about how the glasses had worked out, borrowing Tony’s laptop and opening the glasses up to run diagnostics, and reboot both his and Clint’s because both had had software crashes toward the end. Tony had wandered into the back and claimed the other couch, half asleep and texting with Pepper.

  
“Phil scares you doesn’t he.” Natasha remarked, watching Loki change the batteries on her glasses then look through them enough to access the menus, one of his hands flashing through the air as he checked over everything.

  
“No, it’s just perfectly normal to see a Midgardian apparently come back from the dead.” Loki replied, focused on what he’s doing and not surprised when Clint snickered. “It’s obviously not a bad thing. Since my first visit here it’s been made abundantly clear that the worst damage I did, as far as you were concerned, was his death. Nevermind that I had no idea and still have no idea who he is. But, I am his murderer and if the roles were reversed the walls would already be red with blood.”

  
“He’ll probably take it up with you later.” Clint said

.  
“Yes, that makes me feel so much better.” He wove a hand in midair to dismiss the menus and passed Natasha’s glasses back, focusing back on Clint’s. “Does he ever get upset?”

  
“Not in any way that you’d want to see.” Natasha smiled just a bit.

  
He paused and looked at them. “You two know him very well, don’t you?” Their expressions were enough, especially combined with how they’d greeted him in the restaurant, like old friends, like something far more than old friends but he honestly wasn’t sure what. “So. Tell me about him.” He focused back on the computer screen, long used to Tony’s strange keyboards.

  
“You should probably just ask him.” Clint quirked an eyebrow.

  
“Mm. No. Because if I ask you I’ll also get to understand just how important he is. To you, to everyone else.” He glanced across the airplane, where Phil and Steve still were talking, sitting across from each other, paying rapt attention to each other’s words. He was quickly concluding that the Agent was damn near impossible to read.

  
There was a long pause, then Natasha nodded. “Okay. You want to start, Clint?”

  
“I guess.” He paused, then gave Loki a funny look. “It’s occurring to me that I told you quite a lot already.”

  
“Yes. I was compelling you. Even if you had no choice but to be honest, that’s different. I have made attempts to dismiss the information I gained during that time. I can’t make myself forget, but I consider it ill-gotten intel.” He closed Clint’s glasses up and changed the batteries, passing them back.

  
Clint accepted them back, putting them on to hang around his neck from the lanyard strap that secured them in combat. “I’m considering us even at this point.”

  
That made him pause, looking up from the laptop. “Thank you. I rather figured that would be a lifelong debt.”

  
“You saved my life. We’re even.” Clint was quiet for a long moment, then began to talk.

  
And Loki listened to a story of spying, and killers, ones that worked for a government and some that didn’t, and second chances. Eventually Natasha was talking as well, and he wasn’t even working on the glasses anymore, just listening with rapt attention as he realized that this man, this Agent Phil Coulson was the thread that had bound Clint and Natasha together. And as Natasha kept talking, he realized that Coulson was the thread that bound them all together. Coulson had been directly involved with all of them before the Avengers.

  
Somehow, when something spectacular had happened, this strange somewhat unimpressive looking man had been there. He’d been in Arizona, when Thor had first come to Midgard, he’d been in and out of Tony’s life since the trial by fire, keeping an eye on him. He’d been there when Steve had been found and come to in a different time. He was a consistent, a constant variable. One that Loki had ran through with a spear, and seemed none the worse for wear from it. Hell, he seemed amused by it.

  
Loki looked at him across the airplane (less than a dozen paces between them) and wondered who and what Phil Coulson was. For now, though, he’d already had to accept that the man in the suit was part of this strange piece meal family that the Avengers were. He had no part in this decision, and didn’t feel like arguing it in the first place. He’d caused these people more than enough pain, he wasn’t going to argue the central gear returning to the clockwork.

  
Even if he had the funny feeling retribution was coming his way later, but that was fine. Loki would have honestly been disturbed if it wasn’t.

* * *

 

Pepper was waiting for them when they got back to the Tower. She threw an arm around Tony and Loki both, reeled them and stood there for a few moments in a three way hug that they returned, still alive, still whole, safely home. Only then did she greet the others, tossing her arms in a glad hug around Phil.

  
“You indestructible jerk. What took you so long, Phil?”

  
“His name is Agent.” Tony said with a snerk. “He’s sticking around, I suspect, you okay with that Pep?”

  
She gave him a look, having already let Coulson go. “Of course I am.”

  
“Guess we all agree then.”

  
“Do I get a say in this?” Phil wanted to know, looking amused, which is to say he looked like he was considering smiling.

  
Tony gave him a look. “Stop.”

  
“Like I’m going to readily admit you’re right about anything, Stark.”

  
“You’re going to fit in just fine here.” Steve laughed.

* * *

 

Bruce, Tony, and Loki were back in the labs within an hour of coming back to the Tower, tearing apart what was left of the Wardenclyffe and trying to figure out how to prevent future failures. The production levels were already working on fabricating most of Tony’s next suit, some parts of it were on standby for adjustments and upgrades that had already been on the drawing board.

  
And just that fast, normal life resumed in the Tower. Pepper clung to them harder that night, and they clung back, because the battle had felt far too close. Then life just seemed to… recover, and they all moved on. The Tower was a happy place, Loki had come to realize. No one was letting it be a center for bad memories, this was the place to recover and laugh. There was a lot of laughter in the rumpus room.

  
And Phil Coulson joined in neatly, fit in like a puzzle piece that no one had really noticed was missing, taking one of the empty apartments, and an office (he actually ended up with Tony’s long abandoned, long unused office, as Tony basically lived in the labs). He took over dealing with the media (because yes, it was noticed by many that the navy had tried to blow the hell out of a section of Florida everglades), what else he did in his office was a mystery to everyone, and he wasn’t telling.

  
He left Loki alone for over a week, which was basically just long enough to lull him into a false sense of security. Loki was in his part of the lab, working on the redesign of the Wardenclyffe. Tony had worked out the math then left the fabrication to him because he was caught up with something to do with the suit, something about thrust angles and rocketry and Loki had lost track about thirty seconds into his rant. Not that he minded, he was long used to it now, and he was holding a vibranium ring up to the light when he looked through it and saw Phil standing patiently in the doorway, arms crossed and leaning on the doorjamb.

  
Phil quirked an eyebrow when Loki jumped out of his skin, the ring suddenly twirling slowly in midair as it fell and Loki abruptly on the other side of the room. “Wow, Mr. Laufeyson. Try decaf.”

  
“You scared the fucking shit out of me.” Loki replied, hand on his chest as the vibranium ring clattered to the floor and ended up somewhere under one of his work tables. “Loki is fine. Fucking hell are you always so quiet?”

  
“Yes.” Phil just looked at him.

  
Loki blew out a breath, getting his heart rate back down and walking back to his stool, not sitting back down though. “So…”

  
“You killed me, and I’d like to talk about it.”

  
“You do cut to the chase, don’t you?” He sighed. “I rather figured you might want to discuss it…”

  
That was as far as he got before Phil was across the room and his fist was connecting with Loki’s jaw, hard enough it sent him to the floor. He hadn’t even had time to react, and he ended up sprawling on the cold tile clutching his jaw, wondering how the hell a human had moved that fast let alone hit him that hard.

  
“I had more than that coming to me.” Loki finally said, once he was confident his jaw was not in fact broken.

  
“Agreed.” Phil said, offering the same hand down to him to help him up. “But, seeing as how you didn’t actually manage to kill me, and since you saved Clint and possibly the rest of the world… I’m willing to call us even.”

  
He hesitated for a moment before accepting the hand up, still rubbing his jaw. “That’s it?”

  
“Somewhat. I was obviously quite put out with you, but given what you’ve done for everyone, particularly for Tony, Pepper, Natasha, and Clint… Mostly forgiven. But, being run through was a particularly painful experience, so I couldn’t just let it go completely.”

  
Loki was agog, because Phil could have been discussing the weather for all his voice tone gave away. Only a somewhat intense stare let Loki know how serious the man was. “Why do I get the impression that you don’t talk this much? To anyone?”

  
Phil smiled, just a little.

  
He canted his head, then had to grin. “Ohhh. I do like you.”

  
“Good, because I don’t think I’m leaving anytime soon.” He nodded and moved to step out the door, pausing and looking over his shoulder. “You seem to have found your conviction.”

  
Loki froze for a split second, mind reeling back to the helicarrier, and the man in front of him on the ground, dying and not even concerned about the fact. “I suppose I did.” He finally said, staring.

  
Phil nodded again. “Good.” Then he was gone, back down the hallway.

  
Loki sat down heavily, rubbing his jaw again in wonder. He’d had the rug yanked out of him by yet another Midgardian. But, even as he got down on his hands and knees and looked under the work table to figure out where the hell that vibranium ring had gotten off to, he found himself oddly okay with that. He was surrounded by spectacular people, and he’d be crazy to not appreciate it.

  
But then, as he stood back up and put the vibranium ring back on the table, he was kind of crazy. Even as he thought that one of his work screens brought up a flashing clock, Jarvis giving him a silent reminder, and he reached for the pill bottle automatically.

  
“Hey.”

  
He looked up, and smiled when he saw Tony there. “Hey.”

  
“I saw Phil pass through. Everything okay?”

  
He tapped one of the pills into his palm. “I may have a bruise tomorrow but everything’s fine.”

  
To his credit, Tony barely blinked. “Alright then. Sushi for dinner?”

  
Loki grinned. “Yeah, sure.” He watched the other man walk back down the hallway yelling at Bruce about something, and took his meds, smiling.

  
Life in the Tower moved on, and Loki Laufeyson, neither Asgard nor Jotun nor Midgardian, had somehow become part of it. And he was damned if he was going to change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIN!  
> DONE. Finally. WOOHOO! *party hats all around*  
> I hope you guys liked it!
> 
> I don't forsee another long story like this in this series.. but I do have a list of drabble ideas I might get to if there's interest.


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